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Portland Bail Out

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Who I am:  My name is Gina Spencer.  I'm originally from North Carolina, but now live in the Portland area.  I am a mother and nurse practitioner.  I have history of working in jails and see the conditions firsthand.

Portland's Father's Day & Juneteenth Bail Out is part of a national movement to end cash bail in the United States. The Portland initiative is being organized by myself, and a small group of activists supported by Portland's Resistance , in solidarity with activists nationwide committed to collective liberation.

Who will the funds be raised for:  Our focus is on our Black brothers and sisters trapped in jail, pre-trial and in the unjust system of pay-to-play civil liberties. These funds will be used to to purchase their freedom and keep families together.  We will bail out people in Multnomah County and surrounding areas.

In response to our efforts last month, we have made some changes:

1) We will bail out our Black brothers and sisters throughout the month of June in honor of Father's Day and Juneteenth.

2) We prioritize our incarcerated LGBTQ brothers and sisters as they are routinely victimized in the jail setting.  In regard to cisgendered men and women, we prioritize the elderly and disabled as they are also routinely victimized.

3) In addition to reviewing public jail rosters, we have reached out to attorneys (court appointed and public defenders) in Multnomah County and surrounding counties for referrals to best identify people who can be bailed out.  ***We also ask that if YOU know someone that can be helped by our efforts that you contact us at [email redacted]***

4) With the help of attorneys and clergy, we will attempt to gain consent and also do a needs assessment for potential bail recipients.

How the fund will be spent and distributed:  
We are so thankful for your support during our Mother's Day effort.  From that effort, we have just over $17,000 to start with.

Our goal is to raise an additional $20,000.  Again, our goal is to post their entire bail amount, purchasing their freedom; however, there is also the potential to allow people to bond out (10% of the bail amount) by depositing the money to their commissary accounts. For a variety of reasons, we prefer the former. When those released appear for their court dates, their bails are released, posted bails are returned to our group (typically six weeks after the close of their case) and the returned bails (less fees imposed by the county) will then be reallocated to another bail out and/or the creation of a permanent bond fund for the Portland area.

We will post a full accounting of how all monies received are spent. While of course, we will not identify those bailed out by name, we will share group demographics and situational statistics, number of people bailed out, bail amounts, etc.

This June in honor of Father's Day and Juneteenth we ask you to give what you can, in dollars or attention, to this campaign. Countless advocates in cities across the United States are working tirelessly to end the exploitative cash bail system. Join us! Download a toolkit to start a Bail Out in your city: National Bail Out / nomoremoneybail.org.

Thanks to all who give of their time, share our campaign and donate their dollars to help us stay free!
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Our enslaved ancestors and abolitionists harnessed their collective resources, to purchase each other's freedom and keep families together. We continue this tradition today, as we fight to end mass incarceration and end money bail.
THANK YOU!!!

Organizer

Gina Spencer
Organizer
Portland, OR

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