ICARE: Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment
Rima Vesely-Flad, Founder & Director
ICARE supports human rights of formerly incarcerated persons. It engages communities of faith in advocating for the Restoration of Rights of formerly incarcerated people while assisting congregations in developing prison and reentry ministries. Committed to Restorative Justice, the coalition of faith communities, direct service providers, and policy organizations believes in the intellectual and spiritual capacity of persons with criminal convictions to change their lives.
More than 63,000 people are imprisoned in New York State – approximately 93% are people of color. After release, they are barred from many occupations, housing, higher education and other opportunities because of their past. Facing a difficult community reentry process, two-thirds return to prison within three years of release. ICARE advocates for the rights of the formerly incarcerated by conducting educational workshops, seeking legislative changes, and assisting in prison ministry development.