Rochester Alliance Of Communities Transforming Society Inc

Programs: Roc/acts helped pass statewide raise the age legislation by, training community leaders to play playing a critical role in securing commitments from three upstate senators representing monroe county, thereby helping change the political calculus in albany. Roc/acts helped highlight the issue and helped shape how people thought about the issue by spreading the word on social media, doing press conferences and television interviews, as well as radio talk shows and newspaper editorial board interviews, and presentations to organizations and congregations on the damage that is caused from putting young people in jail or prison alongside adults. We trained two dozen leaders on how to talk to elected representatives about the issue and how to meet with elected representatives or their staff in local offices as well as the capital, organized emailing and phone calling to elected representatives and collected over 2000 postcards in support of raising the age of incarceration. Roc/acts did video interviews with the families of incarcerated youth, formerly incarcerated youth, people with criminal records who were incarcerated with youth, volunteers and staff that work in prisons housing incarcerated youth. In addition, as part of the police accountability board organizing committee, roc/acts helped make police accountability an election issue, speaking to thousands of area residents at summer festivals and parades, and congregations and organizational meetings. Roc acts co-hosted the largest candidate forum of the election season on the issue and highlighted the issue at our public meeting with over four hundred people in attendance. All city council members have pledged their support for change and have committed to a process to put it in place.