A Pennsylvania-based grassroots 501(c)(3) founded in 2001 and led by incarcerated people and their families. We organize to confront the for-profit criminal justice system, defend the human rights of incarcerated people—humane treatment, safe conditions, and release—and prepare people inside for reentry through pre-release support and training pathways, including solar education and emerging solar job opportunities. We fight for environmental justice where it intersects with criminal justice reform.
The Human Rights Coalition (HRC)
What We Do
HRC fights for the rights of incarcerated people in Pennsylvania. Our campaigns focus on the myriad ways in which basic human rights are denied inside prisons- from abolishing solitary confinement, banning toxic living conditions, to ending the continued incarceration of elderly people. We help people inside stay connected to the outside world via our Letter Writing initiative and our quarterly Magazine The MOVEMENT. Learn more about our campaigns below.
Freedom & Second Chances
We fight death by incarceration, push parole and sentencing reform, and advocate for release—especially for people who are sick, aging, or deserving of a second chance.
Fighting for Human Rights Inside
Reentry Starts Inside
We prepare people inside for life after incarceration through pre-release navigation, education pathways, and job training readiness.
Toxic Prisons Campaign:
No one should be sentenced to poison
Incarcerated people in Pennsylvania are forced to live in hazardous conditions—contaminated water, polluted air, and toxic facilities. We organize with people inside and families outside to expose environmental violence behind the walls and demand humane living conditions and accountability.
THE MOVEMENT Magazine
The MOVEMENT is a powerful voice for public awareness that serves both to connect people inside to the outside world and to plug the public into issues affecting incarcerated people. It represents the voices, faces, causes, and ideas of incarcerated people and their families.
The MOVEMENT presents success stories. The section titled ‘Love Knows No Bars’ shows that family ties and love can remain strong and, in many cases, is the life force that keeps incarcerated people strong.
Announcements
HRC receives a $250,000 EPA-supported grant to expand community solar education that could provide opportunities to West Philly’s returning citizens community.
We’ve received a $250,000 restricted Thriving Communities Federal Grant (administered through the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative) to expand our Community Solar Education Series—helping Philadelphia communities build energy self-sufficiency with practical guidance on community-owned solar and how to access it.
This grant will allow HRC to continue building its job readiness reentry work.
Sign up now to get first access to our upcoming town halls and limited-capacity classes when enrollment opens early 2026!
Take Action Today
Our Partners
We couldn’t do the work without the support of our esteemed partners
2025 Impact at a Glance
$250,000 restricted grant secured to expand out Philadelphia Community solar education programming for returning citizens and marginalized communities
1 Big Rally in Philadelphia Center City and letters to Governor Shapiro demanding the closure of SCI Fayette prison
45 legislative visits to advance reform and accountability
Abolish Solitary Confinement Rally and Press Conference at the State Capitol (Harrisburg)
7 counties reached through the Power-Up Caravan Tour (Death by Incarceration)
2 Community Solar Town Halls in Philadelphia
24 years Anniversary of our quarterly magazine The MOVEMENT
Fund the Fight Fund the Movement.
Your support powers rapid response, organizing, inside-prison preparation, and community solar education .