Dear Friends & Supporters,

The board of Orange County Justice Project NC (formerly the Orange County Bail/Bond Justice Project) has decided to dissolve the organization because we have been unable to recruit sufficient knowledgeable and invested board members to carry on the organization’s mission. 

We thank the community members who shared their stories with us and, especially, the donors who believed with us that every person deserves to be treated with dignity. An individual’s race or economic status should not determine whether they sit in jail pretrial, are able to communicate with their family, have basic supplies or access to medical care, or lose their driving privilege because they are unable to pay court fines and fees.

Although the work is incomplete, we are proud of what we have achieved:

  • For five years, our court observation team observed the majority of first appearances in Orange County, collecting important statistical and anecdotal data. Their dedication gave us effective tools to push for bail reform and to educate the community. Written promises to appear are now more prevalent than bail for low-level offenses and racial disparity has been reduced.

  • We provided bail assistance to Orange County residents.

  • We worked with Orange County Justice United on important campaigns to secure commitments from Orange County district attorney candidates to work toward more equitable outcomes and to increase the use of diversion, as well as from the Orange County government to create a low-barrier housing task force.

  • We provided commissary allowances to individuals of limited means in the local jail so that they could phone family and buy necessities from the commissary.

  • We funded the Orange County Government’s Criminal Justice Resource Department (CJRD) to cover the cost of transportation for individuals who might otherwise miss court.

  • We funded CJRD to hire a social worker part-time to provide mental health assessments in the jail. After seeing the social worker’s impact, Orange County added the position to  their ongoing budget.

  • We funded expansion of the Criminal Justice Debt Program, which pays court fees/costs and NC Department of Motor Vehicles hearing and reinstatement fees for indigent people, previously available only to Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents, to all county residents.

As we dissolve the organization, we will be working to provide full funding for 2025 to the programs we have been steadily committed to. All donated monies will be used as intended. If you have questions, please contact me: president@ocjpnc.org. 

Sincerely,
Ashley Nissler
President, Orange County Justice Project NC