Ameelio
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Ameelio, derived from the verb ameliorate – to make things better, is a technology non-profit combating mass incarceration by building free communications and educational tools for incarcerated communities and their loved ones. It is the first non-profit telecommunications company to provide free prison communication services in the United States.[1][2] Ameelio was co-founded in 2020 by two Yale students Uzoma “Zo” Orchingwa ‘22 and Gabriel Saruhashi ‘21.[3][4] In 2021, Fast Company named Ameelio as its World Changing Social Justice Idea of the year, and named Zo Orchingwa and Gabriel Saruhashi on its 2021 list of the Most Creative People in Business.[5] Ameelio also received a New York Times Good Tech Award for bringing better technology to the criminal justice system.[6]
Mission[edit]
Ameelio exists to fundamentally transform a criminal justice system that thrives on poverty.[7] Due to the profit motives of the prison telecommunications industry in the United States, incarcerated individuals and their families are forced to pay exorbitant fees just to stay in touch.[8][9] In recent years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has capped these predatory fees in state-run prisons, but in county and city jails across the country phone calls may still cost up to $1 per minute. Families and incarcerated individuals are forced to bear the financial burden, with 1 in 3 families being driven into debt.[10]
Sustained family contact and access to education while incarcerated are evidenced to reduce recidivism.[11][12] Education while incarcerated is vital to ensuring successful reentry post-release by providing a gateway to economic and social mobility that individuals liked prior to incarceration.[13][14] Despite 620,000 individuals leaving prison annually, only about 55% have any reported earnings after a year.[15] Ameelio's solution is to deploy technology to democratize access to prison communications, educational opportunities, legal representation, and other essential reentry services at no cost to incarcerated people and their loved ones.
Ameelio Mail[edit]
In April 2020, Ameelio launched Ameelio Mail, a mobile app that allows users to electronically send postcards, photos, letters, and custom creative content, such as games, comic books, recipes, and news stories to incarcerated people in prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers throughout the United States.[16][17] Partnered with Lob, Ameelio’s third-party vendor service, Ameelio Mail is fully automated and does not require human interaction.[18] As of January of 2022, Ameelio Mail reports having 250,000 users and connecting over 500,000 families with their incarcerated loved ones.
Voting campaigns[edit]
Ameelio Mail was used to support Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaigns in the 2020 Georgia Special Senate Election, supporting the voting rights of voters incarcerated in Georgia’s jails.[19] Additionally, Ameelio Mail partnered with The Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights to support GOTV mail in Colorado jails during the 2020 General Election and the 2021 New York City Primary Election.
News distribution[edit]
In 2021, Ameelio Mail partnered with The Marshall Project to distribute COVID-19 vaccination and other news stories to incarcerated people.[20]
Ameelio Connect[edit]
Ameelio Connect is the nation’s first free prison communication platform, providing incarcerated people and their families access to free video calls, voice calls, and electronic messaging.[21] Ameelio Connect currently supports free video calls in both Iowa and Colorado state prison systems. Ameelio Connect allows incarcerated people and their families to call each other for free. Historically, American prison telecommunications providers have been for-profit, forcing 1 in 3 families impacted by incarceration into debt in order to stay connected.[22]
Ameelio Learn[edit]
Ameelio Learn is a learning management system designed for incarcerated learners, supporting incarcerated students enrolled in college, vocational, and rehabilitative programming.[23]
Funding[edit]
Ameelio is primarily funded by philanthropic support, notably Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall initiative, Eric Schmidt’s Schmidt Futures, Vinod Khosla, Brain Acton, Kevin P. Ryan, Sarah and Rich Barton, Cindy and Devin Wenig, and Jack Smith. Ameelio has also received institutional support from Draper Richards Kaplan, True Ventures, Mozilla Foundation, Fast Forward, the American Bar Endowment, the New York Community Trust, the Robinhood Foundation, and Zendesk for Good.[24][25][26][27][28]
References[edit]
- ↑ Jul 4, Rosalie Chan; 2020; Am, 9:00. "Ameelio helps communicate with incarcerated loved ones for free". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Zabbasajja, Jennifer (September 8, 2021). "Can a Nonprofit Disrupt the Pricey Prison Phone Industry?". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "Sending a message". yalealumnimagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Koldas, Kardelen (July 8, 2021). "Uzoma "Zo" Orchingwa '14 offers sensible solutions to prison communications". Colby News.
- ↑ "The Most Creative People in Business 2021". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ Roose, Kevin (2021-12-27). "The 2021 Good Tech Awards". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ Primack, Stef W. Kight,Dan (2019-06-08). "Private companies are making money off the prison system in every way imaginable". Axios. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "2018 Phone Rates Survey". www.prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "State of Phone Justice". www.prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "Tech Company Aims to Disrupt Predatorial Prison Phone Industry". www.colorlines.com. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication | Prison Legal News". www.prisonlegalnews.org. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ Duwe, Grant; McNeeley, Susan (July 2020). "Just as Good as the Real Thing? The Effects of Prison Video Visitation on Recidivism". Research Gate – via Research Gate.
- ↑ "Education Opportunities in Prison Are Key to Reducing Crime". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ↑ "Investing in Futures: Economic and Fiscal Benefits of Postsecondary Education in Prison" (PDF). Vera Institute of Justice: Fact Sheet. January 2019 – via Vera.org.
- ↑ Looney, Adam; Turner, Nicholas (March 2018). "Work and opportunity before and after incarceration" (PDF). Economic Studies at Brookings – via The Brookings Institution.
- ↑ "Ameelio wants to take on for-profit, prison-calling rackets after starting with free letters to inmates". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Canales, Katie. "An app will turn your digital message into a physical letter and send it to loved ones in prison for free as the pandemic bans in-person visits to jails". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Lob & Ameelio". www.lob.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Their App Sends Free Mail to Incarcerated People. Now They're Helping Prisoners Register to Vote". nextcity.org. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "The Marshall Project is experimenting with snail mail to reach incarcerated people". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Ameelio's free video calling service for inmates goes live at first facilities". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Harvey, Sylvia a. "Making a Phone Call from Behind Bars Shouldn't Send Your Family into Debt". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Ameelio's free video calling service for inmates goes live at first facilities". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Ameelio: Transforming America's correctional system with technology". Ameelio. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Au-Yeung, Angel. "The Prison Communications Nonprofit Backed By Twitter's Jack Dorsey And Former Google Chief Eric Schmidt". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Ameelio". Blue Ridge Labs @ Robin Hood. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ Journal, A. B. A. "Annual ABE grant program supports 15 'boots-on-the-ground' projects". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "How Ameelio serves a chronically under-served population using Zendesk". Zendesk. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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