LEGAL HELP & DEFENSE.
Root & Rebound
Free legal help for people leaving prison or living with a record: a reentry hotline, mobile clinics and mailed guides.
What they do
Root & Rebound provides free legal help to people leaving prison or living with a criminal record. Its main channels are a Reentry Legal Hotline, mobile legal clinics that travel to communities, and legal information mailed to people still inside, plus self-help guides such as First Step to Second Chances for people released under the federal First Step Act. Direct services run in California and South Carolina; it also works on California policy around record-related barriers to licensing, employment and housing. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Oakland.
Programs and services
- Reentry Legal Hotline
- Mobile legal clinics
- Direct legal services
- Legal information by mail to people inside
- First Step to Second Chances guide
- Educational workshops and trainings
- California and South Carolina programs
- Policy campaigns: Debt-Free Justice, Fair Chance Hiring, Fair Housing for All
Reports 10,700 people given direct legal support through its clinics, hotline and prison mail, and that 95% of hotline callers say it helped resolve their issue. Source