The 5-4 Giving Guide: How to Help

Merry Christmas, Buster Bar!

Happy New Year to you!

In jail!

Hey everyone, it's your favorite host, Michael.

Leon from Fiasco and Prologue Projects isn't here today.

He's taking a break from the grueling task of recording a 30-second intro.

In this episode, Peter, Rhiannon, and I are sharing our recommendations for volunteering in end-of-the-year giving.

Sometimes Sometimes the topics we address on this show can be heavy, to say the least.

So we're hoping this gives you a way to channel your frustrations, your anger, into something good.

This is 5-4, the podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks and what you can do about it.

Welcome to 5-4, where we dissect and analyze the Supreme Court cases that have delivered violence upon our civil rights, like Santa delivering gifts to children across the world.

And also primarily to the benefit of wealthy Christians in both cases.

I'm Peter.

I'm here with Michael.

Hey, everybody.

Happy holidays.

And Rhiannon.

Hello.

Happy holidays.

Happy holidays.

We are releasing a bit of a mini special episode because people have consistently reached out to us and asked what they can do to help, what sort of organizations they can support.

And we thought it would be nice for the holidays to drop some options into your feed if you wanted to.

And so we each have a couple of organizations that we are familiar with that it is beneficial to support and who probably need your money, let's be honest.

So my first org is the Legal Aid Society of New York City, which is one of the most prominent and successful social justice-oriented legal organizations in the country.

They do public defense, juvenile justice work, a wide array of civil work from housing to employment to education to consumer law, ranging from representing individuals to impact litigation with broad implications for civil rights.

Legal Aid's a large organization and large enough that I considered leaving them off my list.

But at the end of the day, they are big in part because of how effective and influential they've become.

So legalaidnyc.org, if you want to donate to the New York City branch.

But really I mention them not because they need money of all the organizations that we talk about today.

They might need it the least.

I really mention them because if you want to do work in public interest law, whether you are a lawyer or not, legal aid is a great place to start because they're a large organization.

always need people, do work in a ton of different areas.

And I think it makes a lot of sense for someone who wants to get into legal public interest work that that's their first step.

So the first organization I want to talk about is called the International Refugee Assistance Project.

And this is an organization that was founded about 12 years ago that connects lawyers and law students around the country and overseas to do pro bono work on behalf of like some of the most vulnerable refugee populations in the world.

And so not just Afghan and Iraqi refugees in the wake of our wars there, but refugees seeking asylum because of religious persecution, because of sexual orientation or gender identity, survivors of gender-based violence, children with medical emergencies.

It's a really, really great organization.

They're doing fantastic work with some of the people most at risk in the world.

And, you know, not everybody has money to give, but for the law students who listen to us, you might be able to give your time instead.

It operates on 29 campuses, and law students play an important role under the supervision of pro bono attorneys in their practice.

So check out their website at refugeerights.org and give them some money or maybe see if they're on your campus.

Nice.

Next up, one of my favorite orgs in Texas, the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance.

This place is an Austin-based, but it's a statewide organization in Texas that aims to create positive drug health policy and reduce the harmful consequences of substance use and misuse in Texas through harm reduction services, training, and advocacy.

So if you're not familiar, harm reduction broadly is just the set of policies and practices intended to reduce the negative effects of drug and alcohol use in society.

So if you've heard of stuff like a clean needle exchange program, you have heard of a harm reduction policy that saves lives.

It's just a recognition that people sort of naturally or will have always and will always use drugs and that smart health policy as it relates to drug use would support people in using drugs safely without dangerous stigma that prevents folks from accessing resources and getting help if they need it.

Texas Harm Reduction Alliance does tons of things.

They have a legislative advocacy arm in addition to just education and connecting people in the streets and in our community with helpful and life-saving methods for drug use.

This is a small organization, but they have a massive impact.

If you're interested in supporting, check out harmreductiontx.org.

All right.

My next organization is Housing Justice for All.

They are an organization dedicated to housing justice in New York State that focuses on working with people experiencing homelessness and tenants in need of support, primarily by helping tenants organize.

They've been around for only a few years, but were already instrumental in the passage of a rent stabilization law in 2019, as well as in organizing rent strikes throughout the pandemic, leading to New York passing one of the nation's strongest eviction moratoriums.

That eviction moratorium is currently scheduled to end January 15th, 2022, which means tenants in New York are facing a lot of uncertainty and makes it a great time to make a donation.

So housingjusticeforall.org if you want to donate.

So the next organization I want to talk about is a faith-based organization, which, you know, I'm not religious.

I wasn't baptized or mitzvah or any of that stuff, but they do really important work.

It's the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and they've been doing immigration issues for 80 plus years.

And especially right now, they are a great resource if you want to do anything to help Afghan refugees who are resettling in the United States.

And there is a massive need for volunteers.

I think I'm going to volunteer.

And they're operating in a bunch of major metro areas and states from Seattle to Arkansas, Florida, Colorado, wherever here in New Mexico.

And they could use your money, but they could also use your time and your efforts.

And if you're a law student, that's great.

But here, you don't need any expertise.

They need help getting people from the airport, getting meal assistance, mentorship, all those sorts of things.

So anybody can help a very displaced population that is looking for a new start.

So check it out.

Their website is Lears.org.

That's L-I-R-S.org.

And under the Take Action tab, you can see Help Afghan Refugees and Allies.

and that'll take you to right where you need to go.

Um, so sorry, not sorry, but all of my organizations are Texas, very selfish, Texas forever, like Beyonce.

Rhea's just trying to lighten her caseload.

Um, so next up for me is Jane's Due Process.

Jane's Due Process is an organization that provides legal representation to minors who are seeking abortion care.

Minors in Texas have to have parental consent to access abortion services, but if they can't get consent from their parents, you know, either because of abuse or otherwise, their only option is to get something called a judicial bypass.

That's the legal process in which a judge decides whether or not a minor can get an abortion.

So JDP, James Due Process, is a unique organization, the only one in Texas that is wholly dedicated to advocating on behalf of youth in the reproductive justice space.

You can imagine how hostile the state of Texas is to the idea that teenagers have bodily autonomy and are deserving of support and even legal representation in service of their reproductive health goals.

So, JDP is at the center of the fight for abortion rights.

They're extremely impacted by SB8, the near-total ban on abortion in Texas, and they are doing incredible work at sort of ground zero of the fight for reproductive justice in this country.

So, if you're interested, check out jamesdewprocess.org.

That's J-A-N-E-S-D-U-Eprocess.org.

All right.

I'll be bouncing around to a state that's not my own, because, again, it's a generosity of

Louisiana Center for Children's Rights.

They are the juvenile public defender in New Orleans.

They represent nearly every person facing juvenile life without parole in Louisiana.

And on top of providing representation in court, they advocate against practices that systematically discriminate against poor children and children of color, and practices that put children into adult prison facilities or otherwise treat children accused or convicted of crimes as if they were adults.

They are currently looking to help sustain what they call their small favors fund, which helps their clients cover smaller costs as they navigate the criminal justice system.

Things like school clothes, books, cleaning supplies.

LAKidsRights.org to donate.

That's LA as in Louisiana.

KidsRights.org to donate.

Thanks to our subscriber, friend, and Slack member, Rachel, for bringing this one to our attention.

Great organization.

They are good.

I know people who work there.

So, I'm going to talk about an organization that is not in my state, also, but it is in my former state, and that is the Advocates for Children of New York.

And this is a really great organization that helps kids from low-income backgrounds, mostly who have obstacles to education success, get a high-quality education.

And so, a lot of times, kids with disabilities, kids who have been abused, kids who have been in and out of the foster system, who have very unstable lives, mood disorders, learning disorders, or intellectual disabilities, they're all entitled to services in New York, but they don't always get them.

And it's actually often a big fight to get them.

And so this organization makes sure that those kids get the education they need, the support they need, make sure their parents or guardians get the support they need to make sure that the kids are growing up in a supportive environment.

It's a really important organization that helps tens of thousands of kids, and they could use your money.

So check them out.

Their website is advocatesforchildren.org.

All right, my last Texas organization, an organization that is near and dear to my heart.

Not only do I have clients who have benefited from the work of this organization directly, but I am a former intern of this organization and know and love the people who work here.

This is Texas Fair Defense Project.

They are doing absolutely crucial and highly needed movement lawyering for racial and economic justice in the criminal legal system.

TFDP was involved, for example, in bringing the lawsuit that found recently that the cash bail system in Harris County, that's the Houston area, that found that that cash bail system was unconstitutional.

But even aside from impact litigation, this tiny, tiny organization also manages to give direct services to people in Texas who have been criminalized based on their poverty.

So, for example, they help people with suspended driver's licenses and they push for system-wide reforms to protect those that are unable to pay their fines and fees that they need to be able to drive legally.

In addition, they advocate for improved pretrial and bail practices in Texas, and they work to ensure that everyone in Texas has a meaningful right to quality defense counsel.

Texas Fair Defense Project can be found at fairedefense.org.

Give them a donation.

They need it, and they will use your money very, very well.

Did they pay you as an intern re?

They did not.

They don't have the money for that.

So maybe there's another organization that can help the interns unionize so they are paid.

My last organization, Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent,

a direct action organization aiming to to free the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh from the oppression of their governments.

No website, just shoot me a DM if you want to get involved.

All right.

So I just wanted to talk about one more organization.

Everything we've discussed up to this point has really focused on helping at-risk and needy communities, and rightfully so.

But now that I am out in New Mexico and feeling a little hippy-dippy, I want to talk a little bit about protecting the land as well.

And there's a really great organization out here located in Taos, New Mexico, called Rivers and Birds.

And they focus on, you know, securing permanent conservation protections for public lands.

And they have a secondary mission of training the next generation of environmental leaders through educational outreach in the local local communities.

It's a really cool organization.

They've secured protections for literally hundreds of thousands of acres in the Taos watershed and surrounding areas.

It's really important right now with climate change being basically a runaway train that any efforts we can make to protect our land are worthwhile ones.

And this is a small organization where your money will go a very long way.

Their website is riversandbirds.org.

I really encourage you to to check it out.

All right.

There you have it, folks.

10 organizations that could use your donations and support.

Would have been a clean nine, one for every Supreme Court justice, but Michael just had to throw in a fourth.

Overachiever.

We will include links in the show notes and post them on Twitter and shit like that.

But we wanted to give people who are interested in helping some organizations that do good work, and that's really it.

So, we hope you have a good holiday season, and we will see you in the new year.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Five to four is presented by Prologue Projects.

This episode was produced by Rachel Ward with editorial support from Leon Nayfok and Andrew Parsons.

Our production manager is Percia Verlin.

Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations.