Thirty Years of CURE

SUMMARY

The authors describe how, for the past thirty years, they have worked to organize CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants), a prison reform constituency of prisoners and their families. Better rehabilitative opportunities as well as less reliance on incarceration have been the goals of their organization. Beginning in Texas, they have, by trial and error, brought about a community of prison reformers at the local, state, national and international levels. Their organizing principles for this achievement are presented and the reasons for them explained. They conclude that every jail and prison should have an organized monitoring entity of the families of prisoners, and that CURE could be a model.

Key Words:

• Grassroots organizing
• prison reform
• families of prisoners