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A Better Way Foundation (ABWF) is a Connecticut-based organization dedicated to shifting current drug policy from a paradigm that prioritizes incarceration to one that prioritizes public health, treatment and public safety. ABWF engages in research, education, advocacy and organizing in order to enable progressive drug policy reform and criminal justice agendas. ABWF develops and trains future activists of the drug policy, criminal justice reform and public safety communities by using organizing principles with a focus on resident and community empowerment.

ABWF’s local and national work is governed by the following ethics, beliefs and principles:

• We do not do for others what they can do for themselves.
• People directly affected by the issue are the best representatives.
• Organizing thrives when new knowledge is built and existing knowledge is analyzed and criticized.
• Targeted direct action and occupying political spaces are forms of communication.
• Employing existing networks are just as valuable as establishing new networks.
• Measuring success through leadership development and victories around an issue.

Despite its reputation as a progressive state, Connecticut not only has one of the highest incarceration rates of all Northeastern states, the state justice system also leads the nation in racial disparities. ABWF’s work was borne of the need to resist reactionary public policies that have resulted in the incarceration of tens of thousands of Connecticut citizens for drug offenses and nonviolent crimes.

Speak Up! Speak Out

Executive Summary

For close to a decade, A Better Way Foundation has worked to eliminate barriers everyday people face when participating in the legislative process. From organizing lunches, tours, meet your legislator and lobby days at the Capitol, A Better Way strategies to demystify the legislative process has engaged and oriented thousands to feel and act part of the legislative process.

Speak Up! Speak Out! is another step in the direction of bringing the legislative process closer to its citizens. Speak Up! Speak Out! was commissioned by the A Better Way Law and Justice Commission and designed to do three things: inform on the multiple ways mass incarceration and the war on drugs is crippling society, present an advocacy tool kit that if followed, will guide you to build a successful legislative advocacy campaign and inform people on how to navigate the Capitol and the Legislature. Unlike its predecessor that was graciously compiled by a University of Connecticut School of Social Work class in 2005, Speak Up! Speak Out! represents voices of people in the great State of Connecticut. When people found that Speak Up! Speak Out! was being put together and that it would reflect the lives of everyday people; stories, testimonies and poems were submitted to the A Better Way offices. Although not all of these stories and testimonies were published, the spirit behind the stories is represented.

Chapter 1 of Speak Up! Speak Out! titled Important Facts You Need to Know reflects the hard work of the Law and Justice Commission. After a year of research and discussions, the Law and Justice Commission identified what they believe are the top 5 issues that speak to what many believe is the moral failures of our time, which is mass incarceration and the war on drugs. In this chapter, you will learn issue by issue, what’s going on in Juvenile Justice, Incarcerating the Mental Ill, Harm Reduction, Drug Policy, and Public Safety. Also in this section, you will read personal stories of people impacted by these issues. The fact sheets and personal stories are not only designed to inform but to empower with statistics, facts and personal experiences that give a total picture of the problem.

Chapter 2 of Speak Up! Speak Out! is titled Advocacy Tool Kit. This chapter is a step by step guide of how to put together a political campaign to influence your legislator. In addition to the step by step approach, this chapter is equipped with helpful information on the how to’s. How to write a letter to your legislator, how do you communicate face to face with your legislator and how to contact and engage the media are just a few examples.

Chapter 3 of Speak Up! Speak Out! is titled From the Community to the Capitol. This Chapter should be seen as an orientation to the Capitol and Legislative Office Building. People that go to the Capitol or Legislative Office Building often get disempowered because the lingo is difficult to understand. Acronyms, legislative terminology and the structure and format of meetings and voting are daunting for anyone. In this chapter, not only will you be introduced to how to get the Capitol, you will also have access to the glossary of terms and voting procedures needed to help you understand what’s going.

In closing, Speak Up! Speak Out! makes it clear. Whether you are interested in one or all of the issues identified, Speak Up! Speak Out! is a road map to justice for all.

Click here to download the booklet

 

Send a letter to your elected officials!
Click on the above link to quickly and easily write and send an e-mail to your elected officials in Connecituct. You can choose from a preformatted letter that we have made available about key policy issues currently before the Connecticut General Assembly or, write your own.

Get involved and let your voice be heard.

If you believe that the current "war on drugs" policies are as miscalculated and unjust as we do, then get involved.

Here are several ways you can get involved:

1. Sign up to receive action alerts and other informational e-mail from A Better Way Foundation Connecticut by contacting Lorenzo at abwf1991@yahoo.com.
2. Educate yourself on the issue.
   Click the Legislative Priorities link to read more about medical marijuana, sentencing disparity and other issues here in Connecticut..
3. Let others know about the issue
   E-mail your friends, family and co-workers and let them know about this web site and ask them to sign up to get alerts.
4. Let us know what is going on.
   Although we might like to, we can't be everywhere to read every article or see every television show. If you read a newspaper article or listen to a television show, forward the article to us at ABWF or call to let us know what you heard on the television show.
5. Invite ABWF to speak to your school, Church, classroom, group, work place, professional network, and/or house meeting about "war on drugs" policies and ways to make a difference in Connecticut.
6. Tell your story.
   If you are negatively impacted by current war on drug policies, write your testimony and send it to us. Are you a patient who wants to use medical marijuana for medical purposes? Do you know someone in prison on an inflated drug charge? Can you not find a job because of your felony drug record?
7. Volunteer.
   Volunteer to make phone calls, write op-ed article to newspapers, help organize meetings and make presentations.

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All Contents © 2005, A Better Way Foundation, New Haven, Connecticut, USA