The Southern Coalition for Social Justice believes no one is the sum of their worst mistakes. Since 2018, we’ve launched a wide-ranging initiative focused on helping individuals with criminal records navigate the re-entry process and ensure their records are expunged so they may economically and socially better their lives.
People seeking SCSJ’s re-entry or criminal record resources can access them through this central page. Questions? Please contact Tanita Holmes, SCSJ’s Counsel for Justice System Reform, at tanita@scsj.org.
Umar Muhammad Clean Slate Toolkit
In 2020, SCSJ published the Umar Muhammad Clean Slate Toolkit, a free resource providing a step-by-step guide to the expunction process. With a typical criminal record expungement costing between $1,500 and $2,000 in court costs and attorney’s fees, the toolkit is designed to help individuals navigate the process independently, making expunctions easier to obtain for people of color and economically underserved populations.
The toolkit is named after Umar Muhammad, a former community organizer with Southern Coalition for Social Justice who organized numerous Clean Slate Clinics across North Carolina.
Through SCSJ and the All of Us or None organization lifting up the voices of those impacted by mass incarceration, Umar helped organize numerous Clean Slate Clinics that served over 60 counties throughout North Carolina. These clinics supported individuals working to address the collateral consequences of having a criminal record, including barriers to employment, housing, and occupational licenses.
We continue to distribute the Umar Muhammad Clean Slate Toolkit through grassroots community organizing. The toolkit also advocates for 10 policy and practice recommendations that will improve access to the expungement process in NC.
Your First 48 Toolkit
Your First 48 Hours Toolkit is a resource guide for successful reentry after incarceration. The last 3-to-6 months before release and the first 48 hours after release are critical to a seamless transition. The toolkit connects individuals to resources and service providers that help overcome the economic, educational, and healthcare-related obstacles associated with being recently released from incarceration. The toolkit helps individuals foresee barriers to successful reentry and identify likely solutions by informing them of who to connect with and what questions to ask.
Questions? Contact Marcus Pollard, Counsel for Justice System Reform, at marcus@scsj.org or Sala Abdallah, Community Organizer, at salaabdallah@scsj.org.
One Mistake, Two Journeys
