American Civil Liberties Union Of Maine Foundation

Public education - the foundation's public education program raises awareness of how the constitution's protections impact the daily lives of all people in maine. We supported the legal department's work by publicizing important lawsuits, amicus briefs, and open records requests in the press and on social media, including: robbins v. State of maine, in re child of barni a., human rights defense center v. Maine county commissioners' association self-funded risk management pool, gaul v. York county, labbe v. State of maine, student privacy at caribou high school, treatment of unhoused residents in several municipalities, state cooperation with immigration and customs enforcement (ice), and more. We also created new and updated existing know your rights print materials that cover a variety of topics, including voting, interacting with immigration and customs enforcement (ice), interacting with police, protesting, students' rights at schools, teachers' free speech rights, medication assisted treatment in jails and prisons, filing grievances in maine jails and prisons, and more. Additionally, the foundation launched a new dashboard that is regularly updated to show how many people in maine are actively being denied their right to counsel, as well as long-term trends. In communities, the foundation tabled at events to engage directly with maine people, including at a local hockey game, the university of maine, bowdoin college, juneteenth celebrations, and pride festivals. The foundation informed the public of legislative developments affecting civil rights and liberties at the state and local levels. Non-partisan education covered issues ranging from indigenous rights, lgbtq equality, criminal legal reform, and free speech. The foundation regularly works with local, state, and national media to inform journalists and the broader public of our work and how they can get engaged.