Successful Volunteer Recruitment Effort for the North City ID Project

The Racial Justice and Advocacy Committees of Women’s Voices are proud to announce a successful strategic partnership with the Ashrei Foundation to recruit new volunteers for the North City ID Project. By working together, we recruited 70 people to attend two training sessions for new volunteers.

Women’s Voices plans to work with the Ashrei Foundation to expand their offerings of ID clinic times and locations, once we have enough Women’s Voices members and subscribers fully trained to become a team. If you attended a training session, please complete the following steps to become a fully trained volunteer:

1. Watch this previously recorded Volunteer Orientation.
2. Sign up here for a "Shadow/Training Only" shift (you must shadow once or twice to become a volunteer.

If you were not able to attend a training session, but are interested in getting involved, please contact Anne Litwin at racialjustice@womensvoicesraised.org or Michele Steinberg at voting@womensvoicesraised.org to arrange an additional training session.

These ID clinics are important for a number of reasons – including being able to vote. Many Missourians cannot readily produce proof of identity documents, disproportionately impacting communities of color, the elderly and homebound, people navigating residential instability, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals. Not having a photo ID is a survival issue for many Missourians.

Please join us for our next virtual Racial Justice Committee meeting on January 19, 2024, at 1 p.m. where we will continue to discuss ID training, voting rights and what we can do to address these and other critical racial justice issues.

Contact Anne Litwin and Liz Sondhaus, Racial Justice Committee co-chairs for more information or to get involved.

Clean Slate Can Help Make Communities Safer

Clean Slate. Two Words. Safer Communities.

Those two words describe communities where individuals have more opportunities to secure legitimate employment and stable housing to provide for themselves and their families.

Those two words also describe bipartisan legislation (a Clean Slate Act) that would make criminal record clearing automatic for certain nonviolent convictions, and would create an automated process to do so. Clean Slate bills have been filed in the Missouri Senate and House for the 2024 legislative session, and the Criminal Legal System Reform Task Force is focused on advocating for their passage. Stay tuned for quick and easy ways you can advocate in coming months.

Each year in Missouri, approximately 97% of incarcerated individuals (13,000) return to their communities where they face obstacles that limit employment opportunities and access to housing. So many obstacles exist that many give up. According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, 69% of those who are unable to find full-time employment return to prison within 2 years. Other states experience similar levels of recidivism, but localities that have cleared people for employment through expungement have seen recidivism rates drop to 20-30%.

Clean Slate legislation requires that someone remain crime-free for a set period of time before their record is sealed. Studies show that people who remain crime-free for prescribed periods of time after incarceration are no more likely to commit crimes than people without criminal records. In fact, studies have shown that five years after expungement, formerly incarcerated individuals were less likely than members of the general public to be convicted of a crime.

The stigma of a criminal record is a major driver of poverty and racial inequality. It is in our community’s best interest to have healthy, self-sufficient individuals and families who, with obstacles removed, are more likely to engage in their neighborhoods, seek more education, vote, volunteer at their children’s schools, and pay taxes. Clean Slate can help make our community safer.

Women’s Voices is a partner in the Missouri Clean Slate Campaign.

Visit our website for information about our support for this initiative. And for more information about joining the task force, contact Mary Schuman or Susan Glassman, co-chairs, at criminaljustice@womensvoicesraised.org.

Volunteers Needed for Lobbying Efforts to Pass Clean Slate Act

As part of the effort to advocate for passage of a strong Clean Slate Act in the upcoming Missouri legislative session, Women's Voices is planning a lobby day on Wednesday, March 6 to meet with legislators in Jefferson City. 

The Criminal Legal System Task Force is seeking volunteers to join this in one or both of the following ways:

• Research to aid in developing a lobbying strategy (including determining members of key legislative districts, as well as voting records and potential positions of members of targeted committees).
• Join the task force in Jefferson City on Wednesday, March 6 to meet with key legislators to encourage passage of a strong Clean Slate bill in 2024 (limited to 15 members).

Let us know here if you are interested in assisting with research or in joining the March 6 Lobby Day.

"Red Flag" Laws and Other Sensible Solutions to Gun Violence

Annual Dues:

$60 (Regular Membership)

$100 (Silver Level)

$150 (Gold Level)

$20 (Student Membership)

New members join here

Renewing members renew here or

Send a check (payable to Women's Voices) to: 

Women's Voices

698 W. Lockwood Ave.

Saint Louis, MO 63119