Community Spring in The News
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Can Giving Money to Ex-Cons Keep Them Out of Prison? — September 8, 2026
The Free Press (P.G. Sittenfeld)
An in-depth article features Community Spring to explore how guaranteed income pilots are helping formerly incarcerated people successfully reenter society. The piece highlights how direct cash assistance relieves financial stress, covers mandatory probation and court fees, supports career training, and cuts recidivism rates.
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"The Courtroom" in The Sun Magazine — August 2026
The Sun Magazine (Kevin Scott)
Community Spring’s Director of Guaranteed Income, Kevin Scott, authored a personal essay for The Sun Magazine's "Readers Write" column. Writing about "The Courtroom," Kevin reflects on his work supporting people after incarceration, his own past experiences, and the enduring weight of navigating the legal system: "The courtroom is a bell, and its ringing follows you long after the proceedings end... It defines who you're allowed to become."
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Local documentaries shown in LA as part of Represent Justice — July 29, 2026
Mainstreet Daily News
Julius Irving and Leigh Scott premiered documentaries in Los Angeles at the Directors Guild of America exploring carceral and mental health systems through Represent Justice's Ambassador Program.
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"Hope goes a long way for people accustomed to hopelessness" — May 11, 2026
Substack: Guaranteed Income Works
In this in-depth interview, our Director of Guaranteed Income, Kevin Scott, discusses how Just Income tackles the $445 billion cost of mass incarceration, one person at a time. The conversation covers reduced recidivism, real stories of recipients rebuilding their lives, and why treating people with dignity is the whole point.
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Living after prison — May 5, 2026
Florida Matters Live & Local, WUSF/NPR (Matthew Peddie, Gracyn Doctor, Quincy Walters, Amelie Horace)
Kevin Scott, our Director of Guaranteed Income, joined Wanda Bertram from Prison Policy Initiative on Florida Matters Live & Local to talk about the true cost of mass incarceration, from the financial toll to the human one, and how guaranteed income helps people rebuild their lives after reentry.
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Kevin Scott Discusses Second Chance Month on True Crime Tonight — April 24, 2026
True Crime Tonight Podcast
Making a return appearance after listeners asked for more, our Director of Guaranteed Income, Kevin Scott, joined True Crime Tonight for Second Chance Month to talk about why people coming home from incarceration need real support, not just a symbolic month. Kevin shared how Just Income has reduced recidivism by 31% and debunked common myths, from fears about work disincentives to assumptions about how people spend the money.
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Prison Policy Initiative Backs Cash Aid for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals — April 18, 2026
The Vanguard (Hannah Kennedy)
A national policy research group is telling the country to pay attention to what's happening in Alachua County. This piece breaks down why Just Income's results are turning heads, and why Community Spring is now helping other communities build the same model.
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Guaranteed income helps people leaving jail and prison, and that helps everyone — April 10, 2026
Prison Policy Initiative (Aleks Kajstura)
This report names Just Income as a model for the nation, showing how the program reduced recidivism, improved employment and mental health outcomes, and delivered a net taxpayer savings of over $13,000 per person. Prison Policy Initiative calls it "a smart policy choice" that should be replicated across the country.
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Community Spring looks to build civic engagement among disenfranchised residents — April 6, 2026
Mainstreet Daily News (Seth Johnson)
Coverage of our Community Power Building initiative, designed to educate and build civic power alongside justice-impacted residents beyond the voting booth.
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Amid devastating federal cuts, states can help families with direct cash — January 21, 2026
Otherwords (Tracy Yeung & Leila Reynolds)
As federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid squeeze families nationwide, this piece points to direct cash as a proven state and local solution, naming Just Income alongside programs in Flint, Denver, and Tacoma for removing barriers to reentry and reducing recidivism.
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Local nonprofit hosts Resource Fair for those with criminal record — January 16, 2026
WCJB
Coverage of our second annual Resource Fair, connecting neighbors returning from incarceration with reentry support, housing assistance, and voting rights restoration.
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Three organizations that are working on solutions to inequality — November 24, 2025
Oxfam America
Our nation is in the midst of an inequality crisis. Community Spring was featured as one of the organizations working on solutions to inequality in Oxfam America's latest report, UNEQUAL: The rise of a new American oligarchy and the change we need. Through our guaranteed income program, we're working toward equality by providing income to individuals recently released from incarceration, offering them a meaningful opportunity to achieve stability during reentry.
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How Fair Chance Hiring Practices Strengthen the Entire Workforce — September 26, 2025
National League of Cities (Tashfia Hasan, Tony McCright, Jr.)
In 2022, we led the effort to pass Gainesville's Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance for private employers, making history as Florida's first city to adopt this policy. Now, three years later, the National League of Cities is highlighting our work as a model for cities across the country. The results are clear: lower unemployment rates and stronger communities. This is the power of economic justice in action. When we invest in those most impacted by systemic barriers, everyone benefits.
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Guaranteed Income Strategy Guide — August 7, 2025
Results for America (Shafeka Hashash, Dr. Stacia West, Misuzu Schexnider, Kevin Scott)
Explore lessons on what makes guaranteed income initiatives successful in the Guaranteed Income Strategy Guide from Results for America. This guide, which highlights real-world examples like our Just Income program in Gainesville, reinforces the importance of community-led solutions and our work in addressing poverty and promoting equity.
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Florida Republicans signal support for banning guaranteed income programs funded by taxpayer dollars— April 10, 2025
Orlando Weekly (McKenna Schueler)
On Wednesday April 9th, Florida lawmakers advanced a bill (HB 1193) that would ban government-funded guaranteed income programs in Florida, despite no such programs currently existing in the state. Our guaranteed income program, Just Income, was a main focus throughout the discussion despite it being privately funded.
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2 cities tried basic income for formerly incarcerated people. Participants felt more food secure but struggled to pay for housing — February 23, 2025
Business Insider (Allie Kelly)
Gainesville, FL, and Durham, NC, tested guaranteed income to support formerly incarcerated individuals facing financial instability. While many participants saw improvements in food security and employment, housing costs remained a significant challenge after payments ended. The pilot results highlight the impact of guaranteed income and the ongoing need for policies that address economic barriers for people returning home from incarceration.
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New study: guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated shows promise — February 14, 2025
Trinity College (Faculty)
Two groundbreaking studies led by sociologist Dr. Lucius Couloute confirm what we’ve known all along: guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated people changes lives. The research focused on our Just Income program and the Excel guaranteed income program in Durham, NC. Both studies found that guaranteed income helped formerly incarcerated people in several critical ways.
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Groundbreaking experiments with guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated individuals show promising results — February 13, 2025
Penn Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania (Carson Easterly)
“Research from the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) reveals the profound potential of guaranteed income (GI) for individuals reentering communities after incarceration…”
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Exploring the potential role of financial interventions to improve the health of families impacted by incarceration — February 1, 2025
Current Opinion in Pediatrics (Destiny G. Tolliver, Benjamin Howell, Sarah Blanton, Emily A. Wang)
Emerging data on guaranteed income programs for formerly incarcerated adults, such as our Just Income program, indicates that the funds improve recipient health and legal system outcomes and allow participants to spend funds on stabilizing themselves and their families.
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Community Spring hosts resource fair aimed at helping former inmates reenter society — January 13, 2025
The Gainesville Sun (Cleveland Tinker)
We hosted a Community Resource Fair to provide resources for our third cohort of Just Income recipients and other community members. We partnered with other local groups, most notably the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), which assisted participants with resolving fines and fees.
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'Hope goes a long way': guaranteed income a lifeline for ex-prisoners — October 15, 2024
openDemocracy
In this powerful interview with openDemocracy, Kevin Scott, Program Director of our Just Income initiative, shares the transformative impact of providing an unconditional guaranteed income to formerly incarcerated individuals.
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‘I wouldn’t wish it on no other parent:’ thousands of teens tried as adults under Florida Statute — July 22, 2024
The Independent Florida Alligator (Lee Ann Anderson)
The majority of minors being tried as adults are Black. Our Executive Director, Lindsay Kallman, gives her account on the situation.
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Prison reintegration program aids formerly incarcerated amid lack of known resources — May 28, 2024
The Independent Florida Alligator (Lee Ann Anderson)
This piece on Alachua County's reentry landscape features Released Reentry, a local reintegration program, and cites our Just Income initiative as an example of how direct cash can help address the poverty that drives high recidivism rates in our county.
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Guaranteed income is sweeping the nation. Will it last? — April 10, 2024
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (Sara Herschander)
This national feature on the guaranteed income movement, from a $115 million artist pilot in New York to programs in Compton and Flint, names Just Income as one of the country's models supporting formerly incarcerated people through direct cash.
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From inmate to advocate: How incarceration motivated six individuals to try changing the system — January 29, 2024
WUFT (Aubrey Bocalan)
This feature highlights six formerly incarcerated individuals, including members of the Community Spring team, who turned their personal experiences within the carceral system into advocacy for systemic change and reentry reform.
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Just Income starts second year with funds for recently released inmates — January 15, 2024
Mainstreet Daily News
It's officially our second year of Just Income payments. We will be providing 22 justice-impacted individuals with guaranteed income for the whole year.
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New reentry simulator highlights the perils of life after prison — December 5, 2023
Prison Policy Initiative (Brian Nam-Sonenstein, Lucius Couloute)
Life after incarceration is no easy task. Our ReEntry E-learning Platform offers a new way for people to understand the hardships that many formerly incarcerated people face when coming home.
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Income program helps those formerly incarcerated stay out of prison — November 30, 2023
Scripps News (Chris Stewart)
During our pilot of Just Income, we were able to provide 115 formerly incarcerated people with a year of guaranteed income, no strings attached.
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Hundreds of cities experiment with giving people free money — November 27, 2023
Courthouse News Service (Thomas F. Harrison)
We are proud to be part of a nationwide network of guaranteed income pilots. In this article, Murray, one of our pilot recipients, talks about the impact Just Income has had on his life.
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Mayor’s screening of award-winning income documentary— November 5, 2023
WCJB (Kayla Lewis)
We hosted a screening of "It's Basic," the documentary we're featured in, at Bo Diddley Plaza. It shares the stories of families from around the nation who have been helped by guaranteed income programs.
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Just Income named Justice Innovation Prize finalist — September 25, 2023
Mainstreet Daily News (C.J. Gish)
We had the opportunity to compete for $250,000 toward our guaranteed income program, Just Income, as a finalist for Dream.Org's Justice Innovation Prize. We presented our program at SOCAP23 in San Francisco on October 23-25.
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Dream.Org announces Justice Innovation Prize Finalists — September 7, 2023
Dream.Org (Rachael Payton)
Dream.Org announced that our Just Income initiative was selected as one of five Justice Innovation Prize finalists. In October, we presented our ideas to disrupt the prison industry and end mass incarceration through guaranteed income, competing for a $250k prize to help scale our work.
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‘Life-changing impacts’: can a guaranteed income program work? — June 13, 2023
The Guardian (Vivian Ho)
Just Income is one of the US guaranteed income programs featured in "It's Basic," a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Michael Tubbs, an executive producer on the film and the youngest and first Black mayor of Stockton, California, described Just Income as "so bold, so courageous, because it challenges not just the notions of poverty, but notions of crime and criminality."
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Guaranteed income program gives $874k to formerly incarcerated Alachua County residents — May 1, 2023
The Gainesville Sun (Nora O’Neill)
Just Income's pilot came to an end, having sent $874,000 directly to justice-impacted people, no strings attached. Recipients were able to invest directly in themselves, with the top three spending categories being retail, food, and transportation.
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Universal basic income eases caregiving after incarceration — January 5, 2023
Prism (Makaelah Walters)
Many of Just Income's recipients are caregivers. In fact, 60% of program participants are caring for at least one child. Some, like Murray, who is featured in the article, care for a parent or other family member. For so many, Just Income eases caregiving after incarceration.
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Gainesville becomes first city in Florida to apply ‘fair chance hiring’ to private employers — December 16, 2022
WUFT (Katie Hyson)
Gainesville makes history by being the first city in Florida to pass a “fair chance hiring” ordinance to private employers. Tequila McKnight, one of our former fellows and current Just Income Participant Coordinator, discusses her experience as one of the people who made this a reality.
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Guaranteed Income Program helps formerly incarcerated — November 18, 2022
CBS-4 News (Massiel Leyva)
Just Income recipient, Murray Wilson, discusses the impact that Just Income’s unconditional monthly payments for a year have had on his life.
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More equitable hiring practices on horizon for those with criminal records in Gainesville — October 23, 2022
The Gainesville Sun (Javon L. Harris)
We partnered with Gainesville’s Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Greater Gainesville Chamber to support a local “fair chance hiring” ordinance which would prohibit discrimination based on criminal background early in the hiring process.
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‘Fair Chance’ hiring ordinance soon to be voted on by Gainesville Commissioners — October 14, 2022
WCJB (Camron Lunn)
On October 13, the Gainesville City Commission unanimously approved, in the absence of Commissioner Desmon Duncan Walker, moving forward with a reading of the “fair chance hiring” ordinance. Our Policy Director, Max Tipping, and Just Income Participant Coordinator, Tequila McKnight, gave statements.
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Prisoners saddled with huge bills following release — August 29, 2022
Washington Examiner (Barnini Chakraborty)
Almost all states in the US have “pay-to-stay” policies which require prisoners to pay for their time behind bars. For some, this could mean paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees when they get out. The significant cost that people face after incarceration has led to several pilot programs being aimed at addressing financial instability after release. One of those pilot programs is Just Income.
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By the People: Community Spring Creates Change Through Empowerment — June 17, 2022
Davidson College (Danielle Strickland)
Community Spring, co-founded by alumna Lindsay Kallman ’10 and Max Tipping, is transforming traditional advocacy. By directly hiring and paying individuals who have experienced poverty, we empower them to lead grassroots campaigns like our guaranteed income project, Just Income. Ultimately, by shifting decision-making power and financial resources directly to marginalized community members, we serve as a powerful engine for long-term economic mobility.
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Lowest-income residents have most pressing – and most ignored – housing needs — May 22, 2022
The Gainesville Sun (Nathan Crabbe)
On May 11, The Gainesville Sun’s community advisory board got together to discuss local housing problems and possible solutions. Our current fellows of The Lighthouse Initiative spoke out, describing issues they’ve noticed and solutions that could increase more affordable housing in our community.
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Basic income project in Florida show that the social contract goes both ways — April 21, 2022
Syre (Hannah Lemoine)
Just Income has been recognized worldwide. Swedish news magazine Syre reports on the implications of our work. As noted, “A society is no better than how it treats its weakest, its poorest, those furthest from the center of power.”
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Guaranteed income pilot for released felons — April 11, 2022
Basic Income Earth Network (Meagan Merritt)
In January 2022, Just Income sent unconditional direct deposit payments to half of our recipients, and in March 2022, the other half began receiving payments. In that short time, an immediate difference was noted in recipients’ lives. They were able to pay off legal fees, invest in education, and cover transportation costs.
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Employers can’t hold arrest records against job seekers if no conviction, proposal says — March 7, 2022
The Gainesville Sun (John Henderson)
As the Gainesville City Commission presented the draft "fair chance hiring" ordinance to local businesses, we released a statement emphasizing how removing arrest record barriers creates equitable job access.
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Florida Guaranteed Income Pilot Focuses on Formerly Incarcerated— March 2, 2022
Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity (Bill Nichols)
Just Income’s Program Director, Kevin Scott, answers key questions regarding the origin of Just Income, its private funding structure, and participant eligibility requirements.
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Just Income GNV offers a year of regular support payments to people released from prison — March 1, 2022
The Gainesville Sun (Gershon Harrell)
“It just really sounded too good to be true”, Just Income Recipient, Murray, said. But, nope! Just Income really is providing people who were recently released from incarceration income for a year, no strings attached. Murray discusses the impact that Just Income has had on his life.
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Guaranteed Income Orgs. Pays Gainesville FL Ex-Prisoners for 1 year— February 28, 2022
The Black Wall Street Times (Ezekiel J. Walker)
Just Income is setting precedent not just for guaranteed income for formerly incarcerated people, but for guaranteed income more broadly. Sukhi Samra, Director of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), notes that MGI is “investing in pilots like the one in Gainesville to build the evidence base for a federal guaranteed income”.
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Guaranteed Income Experiment for Formerly Incarcerated Underway in FL — February 28, 2022
The Crime Report (Andrea Cipriano)
Community Spring’s project, Just Income, is providing formerly incarcerated people with $1,000 upfront followed by $600 monthly for a year. The initiative aims to address challenges faced during reentry such as unemployment and financial instability.
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Guaranteed income experiment provides hope for formerly incarcerated — February 27, 2022
ABC News (Kiara Alfonseca)
The program is being tested in Gainesville, Florida.
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City seeks input on background check ordinance — February 24, 2022
Mainstreet Daily News (Camille Broadway)
With the efforts of our first fellowship class, the Gainesville City Commission has created a draft of the “fair chance hiring” ordinance which would ensure employers consider applicants on an individual basis rather than just their criminal record.
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Basic income program aims to reach former inmates — February 14, 2022
Scripps Media (Maya Rodriguez)
A program is trying to see if a basic income for the formerly incarcerated may be the answer to shutting the revolving door into the criminal justice system.
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A bold new experiment out of Florida: Guaranteed income for the formerly incarcerated — February 3, 2022
Vox (Siobhan McDonough)
Can giving people cash keep them from going back to prison?
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Guaranteed income program breaks down barriers for formerly incarcerated — November 22, 2021
The Independent Florida Alligator (Troy Myers)
Community Spring fellows believe a criminal sentence shouldn’t impact lives after people serve their time.
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‘Just Income GNV’ offers ex-incarcerated people guaranteed income — November 12, 2021
BNC (Prime with Charles Blow)
One population that has been hit hard by the current economic climate is that of the formerly incarcerated.
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A basic-income pilot in Florida will give formerly incarcerated people $600 per month for a year, no strings attached — November 12, 2021
Business Insider (Aria Bendix)
The program hopes to lift recipients out of poverty and prevent reincarceration.
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A new guaranteed income program will keep people afloat after prison — November 12, 2021
Fast Company (Talib Visram)
As well as helping former prisoners, the program aims to raise awareness among the public about the grim reality of reentering daily life.
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Gainesville program to offer guaranteed income to people released from prison or jail — November 11, 2021
WUFT (Nora O’Neill)
Just Income GNV is working to provide a guaranteed income to 115 Alachua County residents who were recently released from prison or jail.
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Application for guaranteed income program open now — November 10, 2021
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
Applications for Just Income GNV are now open to Alachua County residents who’ve begun felony probation or have been released from a Florida state prison, federal prison, or Florida county jail with a felony on or after June 1st, 2021.
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Op-ed: guaranteed income is a way to recognize everyone’s inherent dignity — November 5, 2021
The Gainesville Sun (Mayor Lauren Poe & Kevin Scott)
At Just Income GNV, we believe that direct cash is the currency of urgency and that guaranteed income works more effectively when it’s unconditional, direct, and simple. Guaranteed income is a way to recognize everyone’s inherent dignity and if we want our community to thrive, that means we need to include everyone.
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Gainesville plans guaranteed income program for formerly incarcerated — July 15, 2021
CBS-4 News (Briana Nespral)
As someone who served time in prison, Kevin Scott understands the value of a guaranteed income for people returning home. Our new project manager talk about our upcoming guaranteed income pilot for people coming out of prison.
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Gainesville mayor to set up guaranteed income payments to former prisoners — June 1, 2021
The Independent Florida Alligator (Alexander Lugo)
Kevin Scott, the soon-to-be manager of our guaranteed income pilot, describes in this recent article that upon release from prison he couldn't get a job, was in debt, and was still responsible for court fees, probation fees and child support. Failure to pay any of these would land you right back in prison.
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Ex-prisoners need support, second chance — March 8, 2021
The Gainesville Sun (Editorial Board)
People who have been incarcerated face challenges to reentering society. Having a criminal record can be a barrier to employment, housing and general acceptance. Difficulties in getting a job and having stability only make recidivism more likely. “What ends up happening is that every sentence becomes a life sentence,” said Lindsay Kallman, Executive Director of the Gainesville nonprofit Community Spring.
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Gainesville joins other cities in passing a resolution in support of a guaranteed income — February 24, 2021
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
“We learned a lot about economic resiliency in our community, and how low it is. When we did our community based research we found about half of Alachua County residents making under $50,000 a year, couldn’t come up with $400 if an emergency arose,” Executive Director Lindsay Kallman said. Kallman said the guaranteed income program will serve as an income floor so people have money saved and aren’t in a constant crisis.
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Ex-prisoners in Gainesville may soon receive guaranteed income — February 17, 2021
WCJB TV20 News (Claudia Bellofatto)
For many ex-prisoners, a program like this could be life-changing. Tequila McKnight got out of the prison system 7 years ago. She is now a fellow at Community Spring and says the program will have a huge impact.
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City plan would offer ex-prisoners guaranteed income — February 15, 2021
The Gainesville Sun (John Henderson)
Our guaranteed income pilot program in Gainesville would be among the first of its kind in the country. It would pay people who were previously incarcerated a guaranteed monthly income to help them get back on their feet.
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Gainesville guaranteed income pilot program in the works — February 10, 2021
WCJB TV20 News (Claudia Bellofatto)
In collaboration with Mayor Poe, Community Spring’s new guaranteed income pilot is profiled here as a tool for racial and gender equity. Plans for this new initiative are underway.
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A guaranteed income pilot program could be coming to Gainesville — February 8, 2021
WUFT (Thomas Holton)
This radio clip and article discusses Community Spring’s CS Direct program and describes how we are expanding that work into a guaranteed income pilot program.
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Local non-profit gives cash assistance to low income households — December 21, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
Fellow Tequila McKnight and CS Direct recipient Seth Assan talk about the importance of unrestricted assistance. Direct assistance with no strings attached gives people the power to determine the best use of their funds.
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Op-Ed: guaranteed income addresses poverty at its root — December 18, 2020
The Gainesville Sun (Max Tipping, Nadine Johnson)
In this op-ed, Max Tipping and Nadine “Hope” Johnson discuss a guaranteed income in the context of our CS Direct initiative. “We hope that CS Direct can serve as a model and inspiration for future, broader efforts to get economic assistance directly to our neighbors who need it most. A guaranteed income would be a powerful means of addressing poverty and ushering in Dr. King’s vision of ‘a new day of justice and brotherhood.’”
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Homelessness in Alachua County — November 19, 2020
Noticias WUFT (Emma Bautista)
Community Spring Fellow Nadine "Hope" Johnson shares an up-close and authentic look at the experience of housing insecurity in Alachua County.
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Grassroot organization helping families in need — September 24, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
This segment profiles Community Spring’s program CS Direct. CS Direct provides financial assistance to low-income households in Alachua County. Direct payments without restrictions are important in ensuring that recipients keep their sense of agency and the power to improve their lives in the way they see fit.
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Food insecurity in Alachua County has risen amidst COVID-19 — September 20, 2020
The Independent Florida Alligator (Anna Wilder)
Community Spring Fellow Latashia Brimm's research and blog on food security in Alachua County is featured in this article along side another Community Spring Fellow Nadine Johnson's personal experience struggling with food access.
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Supreme Court restricts voting for ex-felons in Florida; Gainesville community weighs in — August 4, 2020
The Independent Florida Alligator (Anna Wilder)
Community Spring Fellow Tequila McKnight shares her outrage about the recent ruling that requires people with felony records to pay all their fines and fees before being permitted to vote. She worked on Amendment 4 and fought for the right to vote. And now she is navigating a poll tax.
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Local grassroots organization show how people in Alachua County were affected by COVID-19 — July 22, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
This coverage of our Grassroots COVID-19 Recovery Forum talks about the importance of having input by impacted people in the local COVID-19 response. The purpose of the forum was to share data from our community-based survey with local leaders. Results showed that low income folks in our community, were the ones most severely effected by the crisis.
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Community Spring hosts Grassroots COVID-19 Recovery Forum — July 22, 2020
WCJB
During this coverage of our Grassroots COVID-19 Recovery Forum, Community Spring fellow, Tequila McKnight explains, “The people impacted most by financial flux are people who make less money overall. Financial resilience is key to economic well-being and the prevention of future fallout from a crisis like COVID-19.”
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New Community Spring aims to dismantle poverty — July 7, 2020
The Gainesville Sun (Larry Savage)
Our Policy Director, Max Tipping, describes the best part of working with our fellows as. “being able to work beside people that have so much to offer, but because of a thousand different circumstances haven’t been able to show the world what they have.”
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Hundreds protest potential development on former Seminary Lane plot — June 19, 2020
The Independent Florida Alligator (Tristan Wood, Ariana Aspuru)
Tequila McKnight, Community Spring fellow, was a speaker at the rally at City Hall for Seminary Lane. Seminary Lane was an affordable housing complex that she had close ties with. The land on which it stood is being sold to student housing developers, and plans for equivalent affordable housing units to replace Seminary Lane have yet to materialize.
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Gainesville host "March for our Freedom Rally" in response to Minneapolis murder — May 29, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
Community Fellow, Latashia Brimm, speaks about the importance of racial justice and using direct action to create change. In light of George Floyd’s murder and other instances of policy brutality, she shares her fears about her son’s safety.
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Shifting Power— May 11, 2020
The Marjorie (Hannah Brown, Becca Burton)
This three-part series is an in-depth profile of two Community Spring fellows, Tequila McKnight and Latashia Brimm. It follows their challenges with re-entry, their fight to restore their voting rights, and their work with Community Spring’s Torchlighter Re-Entry Support. Their stories are a beautiful example of how cultivating power is a way to reclaim identity and build up our lives.
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Op-ed: suspend evictions in Alachua County— March 31, 2020
The Gainesville Sun (Max Tipping)
During the COVID-19 crisis, Max Tipping, Policy Director of Community Spring, calls for an immediate moratorium on evictions. “There will be a lot of difficult decisions facing our elected leaders in the weeks to come. This is not one of them. Basic compassion and common sense require that evictions immediately stop.”
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Addressing the needs of prisoners during the coronavirus — March 20, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
CBS-4 interviews Community Spring fellow, Kevin Scott on prison conditions during Coronavirus. He describes how difficult it is for inmates to access adequate healthcare. With the rapid spread of COVID-19, Kevin advocates for the early release of nonviolent prisoners.
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Coronavirus Response Sign-on Letter— March 16, 2020
(Max Tipping)
On the day Gainesville and Alachua County declared an emergency, Community Spring acted to make sure that the needs of our low-income neighbors were a priority in our local government’s response. We drafted and submitted a sign-on letter to local elected leaders in which 32 organizations called for a moratorium on evictions, a local fund for emergency rent and utility assistance, a suspension of public benefit terminations, increased sick leave, support for employers to continue to pay their employees, food distribution, and a moratorium on utility disconnections for as long as the Coronavirus crisis continues.
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Ex-inmates in Gainesville make it their job to ease the stigma for others like them — March 5, 2020
WUFT (Kasamba Kokayi)
Community Spring and the 2020 fellows campaign, Torchlighters Re-Entry Support, is profiled on Gainesville’s NPR. This piece highlights two of our fellows, Kevin Scott and Tequila McKnight and the challenges they faced when returning from incarceration. Tequila explains “When someone does their time, the sentence should be over” and yet the stigma of a criminal record follows them for the rest of their lives.
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Community Spring fellow testifies at city commission on criminal background checks as a housing qualifier— February 20, 2020
(Latashia Brimm)
“I think it is time to rethink how criminal records are used in rental housing applications. The way things are right now, every sentence, no matter how small, can become a lifelong barrier to finding decent housing. Formerly incarcerated people are nearly ten times more likely to be homeless. This drives increased recidivism, which comes at a tremendous cost in both individual suffering and tax dollars. And with black residents of Alachua County about nine times more likely to be incarcerated than white residents, this is a critical equity issue. As with source of income, a number of other places have already found ways to limit the harm caused by overly burdensome criminal record screenings in housing.”
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Grassroots organization restoring hope to ex felons — February 12, 2020
CBS-4 News (Taniqua Pennix)
Community Spring and our work around incarceration and hiring practices is the featured story of this local CBS news broadcast.
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Equity effort needs all the help it can get — January 31, 2020
The Gainesville Sun (James Lawrence)
This article in the Gainesville Sun about the launch of Community Spring says “They represent new hope and the brand of grassroots leadership that long has been missing in remedying injustices that persist despite time and money poured into solutions that proved to be insufficient.”
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Gainesville shares new plans to address racial equity at kickoff event— January 23, 2020
WUFT (Maya Punjwani)
This piece on our local NPR station quotes one of our fellows, Latashia Brimm, about the exclusion of formerly incarcerated people in our discussions about equity. She says “We need to think about the people who have paid their debts to society and need the support to not be systematically excluded.”