Mutual Aid, Policy & Advocacy
About
Fenix Collective is a peer-run and peer-led nonprofit devoted to advocacy and support for LGBTQIA+ and gender-non-conforming individuals, women, girls, and BIPOC individuals experiencing and returning from incarceration.
We will focus on advocacy for policy and systemic change. We work with coalitions for criminal legal system change, with the goal being abolition and a complete reimagining of how justice is served, identifying strongly with the principles of restorative justice and indigenous practices of storytelling, art, and other methods of individual expression in order to foster individual and cultural healing and restoration.
In order to affect change at a granular level, we focus on holistic healing and recovery, doing work from the inside-out to support our siblings as they develop autonomy, agency, and identity within a system that denies their worth and even existence. This includes evidence-based trauma healing programs, support groups and individual mentoring, workshops for self-advocacy and leadership, and community work that gives back to others while building bonds for collective power.
We also lean into the practical areas of dealing with systemic oppression, or order to help our peers self-actualize and thrive in a society that neither sees nor approves of them. We offer a wide array of wraparound services for women, girls, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks who are returning from incarceration, including transitional and safe housing in the Charlotte, NC, and surrounding areas, where no such housing exists.
Support
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Mutual Aid
We support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated LGBTQIA+ community members through in-kind and financial gifts that permit them to focus on reentry, recovery, and thriving. The beauty of the Fenix Collective program is that it starts BEFORE reentry: we believe the incarceration time is when change has to happen, when relationships can be mended and built, and we are here to support in whatever ways we can. To that end, we provide mentoring and essential needs assistance while incarcerated. Right now, we mentor and assist over 80 women and gender-non-conforming folks behind the walls in local detention centers, federal prisons, and NC state prisons. We correspond with them, send books and money for critical needs, and work with them on creating goals, release plans, and do our best to make a difficult time less difficult. Upon release, we make referrals and help our peers get the services and resources you need to get on your feet and launch! This includes Welcome Home baskets after release from confinement or incarceration, emergency needs kits, gender-affirming care/hygiene supplies, transportation, food, laptops and digital literacy training, and more. At this time we house 6 individuals in our inclusive reentry home, as well as over 30 individuals in the community, whether it is through support for deposits, rent, phone and other communication costs, clothing, food, transportation, and technology.
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Policy & Advocacy
We advocate for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ folks during and after incarceration, including voter education and mobilization work, policy change advocacy, direct nonviolent action, and other initiatives that build civic engagement and bring power BACK to the people. We engage in mutual aid and power-building with and on behalf of our confined and newly-released siblings, focusing on BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks who are systemically oppressed and the most at need. We work with local, state, and national organizations to partner with them, learn from them, and be part of something greater than ourselves. Whether it is doing voter engagement and education, advocating for policy change, engaging with local leaders to make those policy changes, or participating in civic demonstrations, Fenix tries to center our people in this work and make a difference.