Two people currently detained in Peoria County Jail will be out for the holidays, thanks to a joint effort by the Black Justice Project and Change Peoria.
The organizations created a fund crowdsourced by community members to help pay people their way out of jail while they await trial.
“We try to find someone — or several people, whatever we can afford — and bail them out so that they can be reunited with their family for the holidays,” said Chama St. Louis, founder of the Black Justice Project.
The bail-out fund was started for Mother’s Day. Since then, it’s been used to post bond for four people.
This time around, St. Louis said, they’re hoping to get one mother and one father home for the holidays.
Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell provided the organizations with a list of possible candidates.
“We have an attorney on our team and some other folks who kind of go through the names and figure out who would be a good candidate for us,” St. Louis said, adding they try to avoid anyone charged with extremely violent crimes.
She said they hope to continue this effort beyond the holiday season.
“Hopefully we can get it to a point were our fund has a continuous flow of money so that we could do it more often throughout the year,” St. Louis said.
Donations to the bail-out fund can be sent via PayPal to xfactorassistance@gmail.com.
In addition to the bail-out fund, the Black Justice Project and Change Peoria also have a coalition working to end cash bail as part of astatewide campaign.
