Additional Resources

Housing Resources

• IMPACT Community Assistance provides emergency assistance in Franklin County for transportation, furniture, rental, mortgage, home utility assistance, bereavement, and expungement. See their website for full details on which households qualify or call 614-252-2799 for an appointment.

• Families with at least one minor child or a pregnant woman living in their home and who are at or below 165% of the poverty level also qualify for PRC Emergency Assistance.

• The Legal Aid Society of Columbus provides representation and advice for tenants.

Abolition

The Argument for Abolition

• “Abolish the police” is something we hear a lot but it’s more than eliminating our police departments. The present political argument is for the abolition of the entire Prison Industrial Complex or PIC. This includes policing, imprisonment, and surveillance.

• Police free societies do not equate to anarchy and chaos. In place, we would have community-led safety solutions, resources, and protocols which have been successfully adopted in “western” nations around the world.

• The Data: The U.S. incarcerates 716 people for every 100,000 residents. Our rate of incarceration is more than five times higher than most of the countries in the world even though our level of crime is comparable to those of other stable, internally secure, industrialized nations.

The Prison Industrial Complex, an extension of Jim Crow

• Only 13% of the U.S. population is Black according to the 2010 Census yet 38% of state prisoners are black. In 12 states, more than half of the prison population is black. - The Sentencing Project

• Prisons supply free and cheap labor to mass corporations in the United States.

• In all but 3 states, inmates cannot vote. Additionally, many states block felons’ right to vote - Felon Voting Rights

Abolition vs. Reform

• Abolition and reform are fundamentally different but often grouped together. These charts break down the difference between reformist reforms which continue or expand the reach of policing, and abolitionist steps that work to chip away and reduce its overall impact.

Introduction to Abolition Book Recommendations

• Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis

• The Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore and James Kilgore

• What Do Abolitionists Really Want? by Bill Keller

• The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale

• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Abolition 101 Study Guides / Resources

If You’re New to Abolition: Study Group Guide - Abolition Journal

Police and Prison Abolition 101: A Syllabus and FAQ - Transform Harm

An Indigenous Abolitionist Study Guide - Toronto Abolition Convergence

Pandemics of Violence - University of Washington (links to other guides, archives/media/projects, organizations, and readings)