AFSC - Tucson, Arizona

AFSC Arizona has moved!

With the addition of new staff and the ever growing need for more work in both the areas of Criminal Justice and Immigration, it was necessary to find more space.  Fortunately we were able to stay in the same building and move just around the corner.  Our address remains the same, but our Suite # is now 111.

PLEASE JOIN US for our Open House on Monday, September 22 from 5:30 - 8:30pm.  There will be food, refreshments, and music to enjoy the new space we have!

If you are interested in helping or have any questions, call the office at 520.623.9141 or email afscaz@afsc.org.  See you there!

Breaking News

At a statewide networking forum on May 19, 2007, the American Friends Service Committee, Arizona Program kicked off the StopMax Arizona Campaign: a statewide effort to end the use of long-term solitary confinement.

In an era of exploding prison populations and growing public concern over extreme penal practices, Arizona communities are coming together to demand an effective state justice system that keeps communities safe, spends public funds wisely, and is accountable to Arizonans.

"We have a system that relies on the failed strategy of long-term solitary confinement," said Caroline Isaacs, Director of the Arizona American Friends Service Committee, "this is a clear human rights issue, but in addition, it is also a practice that fails to accomplish the security goals it claims to address. It fails to protect prison staff and inmates, it threatens public safety, and it does so at an outrageous social and economic cost."

AFSC-AZ has released a groundbreaking report on the use of long term solitary confinement in Arizona facilities. The report, Buried Alive (PDF, 361 KB), is the first attempt to catalogue the use and impacts of this correctional practice in Arizona.

"This is an issue that has widespread costs for everyone in our state," said Matthew Lowen, "the more people learn about it, the more support we're gathering to make real change."

The StopMax Arizona Campaign brings together a diverse group of concerned Arizonans to address the problems in long term solitary confinement in the state and to promote sensible, humane, and cost effective alternatives. Find out how you can get involved in the StopMax Arizona Campaign.

Arizona Area Office Programs

The Arizona Area Program, located in AFSC's Pacific Southwest Region, works for peace and justice through various committees and coalitions. 

Immigration/Border Program
AFSC’s immigrant-rights work seeks to strengthen the voices of immigrant-led organizations in setting the national agenda for immigration policy. The Immigration and Border Program combines local and national organizing, education, and outreach campaigns to achieve a strategic impact on key immigration and refugee issues including legalization, human and civil rights abuses, worker’s rights, and other issues.

Criminal Justice Program
The Criminal Justice program’s work is centered in advocacy promoting public education and social change. The goal of our Criminal Justice Program is to reduce the number of incarcerated people in Arizona. Some of our advocacy work is on behalf of individual prisoners or family members, but we strive to concentrate our efforts on larger, policy-level issues that affect large numbers of people. We serve as a resource for prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their family members to find information and resources to address their questions and needs, and a place to get involved in brining their voice to the seats of power in Arizona.

Current projects include:

• Sentencing Reform Campaign to change Arizona’s overly harsh sentencing laws
• Stopping prison expansion, particularly the proliferation of private prisons
• Prisoner Re-Entry
• Shutting down “Supermax” or Control Unit Prisons

Coalitions

Arizona Advocacy Network (AzAN)

Coalicion Derechos Humanos
Advocates for just law enforcement and the protection of human rights on the border. Derechos Humanos meets every Thursday from 5:30-7pm at the Sam Lena Public Library, 1607 S 6^th Ave, Tucson. For more information, call Jose Matus at (520) 770-1373.