about US

Witness to Mass Incarceration (WITNESS) is dedicated to fostering economic liberation for formerly incarcerated individuals (FIP), system-impacted persons, LGBTQ+ youth, women, and the migrant community. We achieve this by creating a hub of excellence in entrepreneurship and innovation for these communities, providing comprehensive vocational training, social enterprise solutions, and robust support systems. Our mission is to cultivate economic independence, reduce recidivism, and nurture generational wealth, dismantling systemic barriers and advancing equality for all we serve.

ENDING MASS INCARCERATION

Since WITNESS was founded in 2016, we have launched a series of initiatives designed to change the narrative about incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people from invisibility and victimization to empowerment through documentation, leadership training, organizing, and advocacy. 

All our initiatives are intended to make life safer for people who are incarcerated and to help people build successful lives once they are released. We focus on improving conditions of confinement through our work to end sexual violence in confinement. We have designed and are implementing a new approach to reentry. We respond to events which require immediate action, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It is our conviction at Witness that mass incarceration will only be reduced and changed when the nation understands the extent of the injustice and horror of the entire criminal legal system. We believe that once a person sees the human faces of incarcerated people and hears their story, they will be more likely to support alternatives to incarceration.