Community-Assisted Resources for Equity (CARE Fund) was formed a year ago primarily to help people pay small fines to get their drivers’ licenses reinstated. The fund’s purpose has expanded to be available for many other court-related expenses that, if not paid, interfere with a person’s ability to get on with life.
To date, the Olympia CARE Fund has distributed about $3,000 and has paid for:
- court fines so cases can be closed
- x-rays for an inmate who might need surgery
- monthly bus passes for dozens of people so they can get to their court appointments; and
- remaining fees and fines for a dozen people who were able to get their drivers’ licenses reinstated.
Small amounts of money can make a HUGE difference in someone’s life!! If you would like to be part of the group that maintains the Fund, helps it grow, and authorizes disbursements, please get in touch with Wendy Tanowitz at 360-915-9035. You will help to mitigate the cruelty of the system and learn a lot about how the criminal injustice system treats people with few resources.
You can attend a fundraising event, Balancing the Scales, for CARE on Wednesday, November 15 at the Women’s Club, 1002 Washington SE. There will be appetizers and appealing, helpful human beings to talk to.