Florida Justice Center Demands Free Phone Calls in County Jails
FLORIDA JUSTICE CENTER DEMANDS FREE PHONE CALLS IN COUNTY JAILS
Florida Justice Center Demands Free Phone Calls in County Jails
Legal aid organization joins other community groups to speak at Miami-Dade Commission meeting on behalf of incarcerated people.
Miami, FL (March 10, 2022) –
No family should have to choose between food or talking to an incarcerated loved one. Unfortunately for many low-income Americans, this is the harsh reality that they face. Maintaining connections with an incarcerated loved one is considered a fundamental need that aids not only in rehabilitation, but also helps prevent children of the incarcerated from having justice-involvement themselves.
Many families cannot afford the $5.74 that an average 15-minute phone call from a jail or prison costs. On March 10, 2022 Florida Justice Center joined Beyond the Bars and other community groups to explain to the Miami-Dade County Commission the importance of free jail phone calls to keep strong family connections, maintain contact with attorneys, and to keep low-income families from further hardship due to poverty.
FLJC’s Director of Legal Services, Alex Saiz, Esq., spoke in front of the Miami-Dade Community Safety and Security Committee in support of Resolution 220416 sponsored by Commissioner Kionne McGhee that would make phone calls from all Miami-Dade County jail facilities free of charge. Last year Miami-Dade led the way in Florida by reducing phone calls from 14 cents a minute to 9 cents a minute by foregoing its commissions paid by Global Tel*Link Corporation.
“Florida Justice Center stood with national organizations to fight for free phone calls for the incarcerated in April 2020. Now we stand with our local community to speak out against corporations seeking to profit on the backs of struggling families,” said FLJC Executive Director Jonathan Bleiweiss, referring to Florida Justice Center’s demand for free phone calls at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with Color of Change, Worth Rises, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Southern Poverty Law Center, and others.
ABOUT FLORIDA JUSTICE CENTER
Florida Justice Center is the first and only nonprofit legal aid organization authorized by the Florida Supreme Court to provide criminal legal assistance. FLJC is dedicated to reducing incarceration rates in Florida using a holistic approach that combines legal and reentry social services. Helping thousands of people a year, FLJC’s growth is limitless.
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