Our vision is to help people in Oregon exit the criminal justice system by eliminating small financial burdens.

All too often, relatively minor financial requirements keep people in the justice system and prevent them from moving forward with their lives. Small fines and fees can be significant barriers, especially for those who are also trying to understand and comply with many other requirements of the justice system.

The need for this type of direct support is great, and growing. We work directly with public defenders to identify clients who are trying to make a change and for whom this assistance would be transformative.

Hundreds of grants from the Sara Snyder Defendant Support Fund have covered a range of fines and fees. For example, the fund paid an outstanding bond forfeiture that allowed for a client’s record to be expunged and for eyeglasses for a client so she could participate in her own defense. The fund has also paid for many prohibitively expensive court required assessments and classes, fees to get suspended drivers licenses returned, court appointed lawyer charges and much more.