LCCRSF’s Racial Justice program is focused on two issue areas: Decriminalization of Poverty and Policing & Criminal Justice Reform.

Decriminalization of Poverty:

Poverty and homelessness in the United States are a direct product of institutionalized racism and oppression. Unjust policing and mass incarceration of people of color; inequalities in housing, education, and healthcare; and disproportionate financial punishments for those who can least afford them have long striped wealth and power away from communities of color and pushed them further into poverty and debt.

Through bold litigation, community education, and collaboration, we aim to put a stop to unfair financial punishments and the criminalization of poverty.

LCCRSF leads policy development and impact litigation that directly supports the people and movements fighting for an end to police brutality and violent police practices. Our work seeks recompense and policy change, to reimagine policing and reinvest funds currently spent on violence to systems that actually improve safety.

We work with unhoused individuals facing further deprivation at the hands of the state, advocating for the return and compensation of their belongings that have been seized and destroyed by government agencies. We also work with Black and Brown youth who are consistent targets of harassment from police to address the discrimination they’ve experienced.

Our partnerships are crucial to our priorities of dismantling systemic oppression, and we work closely with local BIPOC-led organizations to effectively collaborate, follow, and lead in the effort to end the over-policing of Black people and reinvest in communities of color.