Meeting the moment. Building a better tomorrow.
Dear Friends,
ARC's work centers on transitions. Each day, our teams guide currently incarcerated people away from criminal mindsets toward greater accountability for their actions. We transition incarcerated people from prison to freedom through our Ride Home program, and we guide newly free people towards sustainable lives by giving them the skills they need to function as productive citizens. Through the sharing of stories and the development of policy, we advocate for change that can transform the public's perceptions of folks whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system.
In 2025, we faced a resurgence of challenges to hard-won progressive criminal justice reforms across many fronts. But we forever cleave to the hope that change is still possible, even if sometimes it feels like new roadblocks are appearing in our way.
We trained hundreds of members and made sure folks with lived experience were front and center as we advocated for legislation that would raise pay for incarcerated workers, ending slavery-like forced prison labor in California; expunge records to eliminate barriers to employment and housing once people have paid their debt to society; and ensure the compassionate treatment of incarcerated pregnant and parenting women.
We purchased and proudly opened our new headquarters—the Hope and Redemption Center in Echo Park—strengthening our roots in Southern California. The Center is already serving as a vital hub for community support where we offer people the tools they need to make recidivism a thing of the past. In our first year in our new home, which includes a soon-to-be state of the art Hollywood production studio through which we amplify the true meaning of hope and redemption, hundreds of people accessed our services, marking a significant step forward in our outreach and impact. We also successfully fostered a transition in our relationship with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to a mutually beneficial collaborative partnership.
It was also a time of transition for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition's leadership. As we celebrated ARC's former Executive Director Sam Lewis's leadership over the prior six years, we reflected on the thousands of lives changed for the better and looked ahead to what comes next. It was a profound moment of leaning into our mission, vision, and values when the Board appointed both of us – Jerome as ARC's first-ever formerly incarcerated Board Chair and Rob, a seasoned nonprofit professional who has worked with and on behalf of system impacted people on local, statewide, and national levels, as Interim Executive Director – to keep ARC moving forward. We're both proud to be walking side by side with our members, staff, and supporters today to accomplish ARC's goal of creating a more compassionate, equitable, and rehabilitative justice system.
We can't reflect on 2025 without well-deserved recognition for the nearly 1,000 incarcerated firefighters, many of whom were trained at ARC facilities, who battled the Palisades and Altadena Fires right as we kicked off the new year. Folks like Jose Angel Amezcua, who reflected in his moving op-ed, "[a]mid the smoke, ash, and destruction of the LA fires, people saw us as heroes, recognizing the good we could achieve when given a second chance." These brave individuals, like Jose, earned less than $11 a day and fought tirelessly to save people's lives and homes. The moment was eye-opening for many Americans – more than 15 million of whom watched our video content and social media reels. They got a different kind of glimpse into life inside, shared messages of gratitude, and generously donated $2M for ARC's Firefighter Fund to support members of incarcerated fire crews returning home.
We have a clear vision to expand our services and strengthen the organization's influence and sustainability, enabling us to reach even more communities impacted by incarceration. We will transform our vision into lasting change that not only benefits people who have experienced incarceration, but also our neighbors in every community throughout California and beyond. And we celebrate one additional transition, that of Rob Woronoff from Interim Executive Director to ARC's new permanent leader who, along with ARC's Board, staff, and members, will guide us into our exciting future.
This 2025 Impact Report offers a little preview of what comes next in our "Looking Ahead to 2027" section. The journey toward justice and redemption is ongoing, and ARC is more than up to the challenges we face moving forward. We are grateful and eager to share it all with you.
With gratitude and love,
