Civil Survival Project

In 2023, Civil Survival helped more clients than ever. Our team provided legal representation in 1,095 cases, focusing on legal financial obligation (LFO) relief, criminal record vacation, and vacation of unconstitutional drug possession convictions, among other areas. We also expanded opportunities for the community members to receive support in filing their own LFO, vacate and other reentry legal relief paperwork. Civil Survival launched an Attorney Office Hours program, where members of the public can easily schedule a meeting with an attorney to receive a summary of their eligibility for LFO relief or record vacation. We also continued to provide community members with free copies of their criminal history?the only service of its kind in Washington. In total, Civil Survival provided 782 criminal histories, allowing recipients to understand what might appear on a background check and which cases might be eligible for LFO reduction or record vacation.

In 2023, Civil Survival organized people directly impacted by the criminal legal system to understand their rights and advocate for policies to restore opportunity to our community. We held weekly Game Changer meetings where directly impacted people came together to build community, support each other, learn more about resources in the community, and how to impact system change through legislative advocacy. Over the last year, Civil Survival has deployed a multifaceted approach to advocacy. In addition to direct representation, we have engaged in legal advocacy aimed at broad-based advancements in reentry law. Our amicus advocacy, for example, has blossomed over the last year to cover all the focal points of the organization, including community members with unconstitutional drug possession convictions and those with court fines they could not afford to pay. Like almost all of our work, the amicus briefs we filed were a collaborative effort with other legal and grassroots organizations, strengthening our collective power in the courts. Civil Survival also leveraged community partnerships to expand access to legal financial obligation relief. We organized a coalition of 21 community and legal organizations, successfully requesting that the Washington Supreme Court simplify and expand the relief provided by court forms that must be used in thousands of legal financial obligation cases each year. Civil Survival's community organizers worked alongside thirteen other community-based organizations to create an advocacy event to remember. The event focused on educating people both familiar and unfamiliar with the legislative process, and facilitating a connection with their legislators. A key aspect of the lobby day was to work with justice-impacted youth and adults to craft their lived experiences and stories into compelling narratives that convince legislators of the importance of their policy proposals. The organizing team continued their efforts to increase access to voting in jails by going into facilities to ensure that people are aware of their right to vote, and register to vote. In 2023, Civil Survival's organizers went into three different facilities, to connect with and educate people who were currently incarcerated in those institutions. This inreach into facilities is a core aspect of Civil Survival's work and, as always, we welcomed the partnership in this work of organizations in the juvenile justice space who are dedicated to reaching our youth.

During its second year of operation, Civil Survival's Blake Civil Impacts Project helped low-income Washingtonians vacate over 100 unconstitutional drug possession convictions under State v. Blake and obtain LFO refunds. In addition to direct legal representation, Civil Survival distributed education materials to assist the public in obtaining a Blake vacation without an attorney. Civil Survival maintained a guide on its website that allows people to determine whether they have a Blake conviction. Civil Survival brought Blake information into the community, sharing resources with hundreds of people at community events and meetings.