EPOCA

EPOCA began in the fall of 2004, when several former prisoners came into contact through various addiction recovery programs in Worcester, Massachusetts. While in the healing process, they began talking with a community organizer about the ways people continue to be punished long after their sentences have been served, and how the situation could be changed.

Since then, we have been methodically building EPOCA. We have accomplished the tasks associated with beginning a democratic grassroots organization, including: developing a mission statement, membership requirements, by-laws, and a leadership structure.

In November 2005, we carried out a strategic planning process to prioritize our issues for the coming year and determine how we will accomplish our goals. Moreover, in the past year and a half we have built a base of 129 committed members and have developed strong relationships with local and statewide allies.

Although we are already working in 4 different cities and multiple towns throughout Massachusetts, the majority of our members are located in Central Massachusetts. To deepen and expand our network in the rest of the state, we are raising the funds to hire a second organizer.