The Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition is a state-wide organization that works to end mass incarceration through education, policy change and direct aid. The group recently launched the northwest Arkansas Hummingbird project, a revolving community bail fund meant to support incarcerated people in our region.
The money raised will go towards a newly formed community bail fund project. This bail fund will support those in our region who are currently incarcerated and unable to afford their freedom. The fundraiser had food, music, live art and a dunk tank, where community members who are passionate about the cause were willing to be dunked in water to raise money for the project. Irvin Camacho is an northwest Arkansas resident and community organizer. Camacho said he was there because he believes in the work the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition is doing.
“Specifically the Hummingbird Project, helping folks who are incarcerated with the option of bail," Camacho said. "There's a lot of folks that are in the Washington county and Benton county jails that are just there because they can't afford to pay their bail. So what the Hummingbird Project is doing is allowing them to get some sort of help in paying that bail and, and being able to just, you know, go back to their jobs. And the Hummingbird Project, also helping them with resources once they're out of jail, so that they can get their cases closed fast. So I think that's really important work for me, specifically because I used to work for the Bell Project, which was the national organization that was doing similar work here. And the Hummingbird Project and Arkansas reform coalition is continuing that work. And that's why I think it's important to be here at support."
Mac Mayfield is a board member of the coalition and designated barbecue griller for the event’s festivities. Mayfield said he joined the cause six years ago.
“Since Washington County wanted to expand the jail, that was the first initiative was to slow that down and stop it," Mayfield said. "Because we have, not a fun fact but a fact, about 500 of the 750 people in the jail who are there pretrial. They can't afford bail. They're away from their families, away from their jobs. And that seems to do a lot of harm to the individuals and to their families and and to our community. They're not really dangerous, but they are sometimes desperate. And we need to figure out the policies that will keep them from being being that way."
Away from the buzz of the activities, we meet Fernando Garcia, a pre-trial release advocate at the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition. Garcia said the coalition was founded in 2019, and leads aid to incarcerated people beyond the Hummingbird Project.
"We work with folks who have been directly impacted by the carceral system, and their family members as well," Garcia said. "And we provide services for folks as well. Besides the bell fund, there's also a court side assistant, so volunteers can go with you to court, because we know going to court can be pretty intimidating as well. So we have a group of volunteers who go to court with you, just to make you feel a little bit more at ease."
Garcia said the project was launched in May of this year, because there were a lot of people in jail awaiting their trial.
“They’re still there because they can't afford their bail," Garcia said. "So this mostly affects low income folks, poor people who can't afford their bail. So they're sitting in jail just waiting to trial, they haven't been declared innocent or guilty. And that puts them at risk as well for losing their employment, losing housing. And just creates that cycle that we're trying to prevent people into going. We had a really fun event last Saturday, where folks got a chance to know more about the project know more about the organization. But also we had refreshments we had food and we had a dunk tank, which was really fun seeing our supporters and our allies getting done. But that was to raise funds for the hummingbird project for our community bail fund. And we were able to raise over $7,600. So with that we'll are going to be able to bail one or two people out."
Garcia said their goal is to raise even more funding.
“Because we know how important this community bail fund is to help release folks and for them to be reunited with their loved ones," Garcia said. "We know that if they are on the outside while they're going through the case, they have a bigger chance of beating their case as well. So that's why it's very important as well for folks to be released as they await trial."
Out of the nearly 23,000 people that have been arrested in Washington County since July 2000, about 90% of those arrests have been nonviolent offenses. For more information on future fundraising efforts for the Northwest Arkansas Hummingbird Project, you can search for the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition on Instagram and Facebook.
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