24 Aug 2015
ARC Members Star in Closer to the Cuts Video ProjectSusan Sobel, ARC Ally, InsideOUT Writers (IOW) teacher and second-year law student at Seattle University, created Closer to the Cuts to lift the voices of incarcerated youth and change the narrative around criminal justice reform. In Susy’s own words, “Closer to the Cuts is a visual interpretation of a poem that was born from my experiences working as a poetry …
15 Aug 2015
The California Report: How a Hollywood Producer Became an Advocate for Juvenile OffendersScott Budnick, producer of The Hangover series, put his Hollywood career on hold to start the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC). It’s a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated young men and women transition back to life on the outside. Listen to the full radio interview by clicking play below.
01 Aug 2015
NY Times Highlights ARC Ride Home ProgramWhen California voters amended the state’s harsh three-strikes law in 2012, they ensured that nonviolent third offenses would no longer lead to life sentences. Significantly, they made about 3,000 people serving those life sentences suddenly eligible for release. Since then, more than 2,000 have emerged after years in prison into worlds dramatically transformed from those they left behind. This Op-Doc …
22 Jul 2015
The Guardian: Scott Budnick, Hollywood Blockbuster Producer, Gave It All Up To Reform PrisonsAs he sits in the airport waiting for a flight, 22-year-old James Anderson talks about his life before, during and after incarceration with breathtaking candidness. He runs through his teenage years spent in and around the San Fernando valley, revealing a catalogue of drug addiction, brutal physical abuse by his father, suicide attempts, being sucked “in deep” into gangs and …
14 Jul 2015
Watch the 9-min doc of TEDx at Ironwood State Prison!What were Richard Branson, Sean Stephenson, and the Jabbawokeez doing inside Ironwood State Prison? Be part of the experience and watch the short 9-minute documentary here! https://youtu.be/yog403ksGqk
04 May 2015
Scott Budnick Appointed to Advisory Board of My Brother’s Keeper AllianceNEW YORK, NY – Today, Scott Budnick, the Founder and President of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Advisory Council of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance). The MBK Alliance is made up of a diverse group of leaders from across the country, including successful business leaders, high-profile entertainers, government officials, and leading nonprofit …
21 Apr 2015
John Legend and ARC Member James Anderson Discuss 2015 Survivors Speak ConferenceSinger John Legend got behind the microphone at the Sacramento Convention Center on Monday, not to perform, but to advocate for social change. “I don’t want to live in a nation that criminalizes addiction and poverty,” Legend said. He’s using his voice to call for less punishment for crime and more crime prevention. He addressed the audience at “Survivors Speak”, …
13 Apr 2015
Newt Gingrich: A Second Chance for Youth Offendersby Newt Gingrich Last month, I was honored to co-host an amazing and genuinely bipartisan summit on criminal-justice reform, along with my friends Van Jones, Donna Brazile, and Pat Nolan. Nearly 600 citizens from both parties came together to discuss real solutions for our country’s failing incarceration system. The day surfaced an extraordinary range of good ideas, but one in …
31 Mar 2015
After Lockup, a Question of CareThis article originally appeared on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange on March 30, 2015. Click here to view. by Lynne Anderson Louie Chagolla was in and out of trouble with the law for most of his teenage years. He was in lockup twice and, when not in lockup, he was on probation. Possession of a deadly weapon made the scared but tough-acting kid …
31 Mar 2015
From Gangs and Gladiator School to the LA Chamber of Commerceby Kent G. Mendoza Morales The date is April 9, 2014. It’s 12 noon, and I’m coming home. My name is Kent G. Mendoza Morales and I’m 21 years old. At the age of 12, I had my first encounter with the law. Three years later, I received a sentence of nine months in a juvenile facility that initiated my …
28 Mar 2015
From the Jailhouse to Morehouse to the White HouseThis Op-Ed originally appeared on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange on March 31, 2015. Click here to view. by Alton Pitre I felt like a young politician last week during my four-day visit to Washington, D.C., with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition on our policy trip. From meetings with members of Congress to a meeting with a deputy assistant to the president in the White …
25 Mar 2015
Outside ManEvery Saturday morning Scott Budnick leaves his 1920s Mediterranean villa on a Hollywood Hills cul-de-sac, with its pool and waterfall and wooded trails, and drives his Tesla north, across the San Fernando Valley, to where the 5 and 210 freeways converge in Sylmar. The first time he made this trek, to a corner of Los Angeles synonymous with the fortress …