Skidaway Hamiltons Program featuring Coco Papy from Deep Center

Criminalization of Poverty in

Savannah/Chatham County  

Coco Papy, Director of Public Policy and Communications at Deep Center will tell us how their organization is focused on policy and organizing efforts that seek to decriminalize poverty and build towards a more equitable and just community.  Georgia has a very high incarceration rate, affecting primarily working-class communities of color. The effects of arrests, court hearings, and jail time on people of limited economic means can be devastating to their future opportunities for employment, financial assistance and education. Fortunately, local reform efforts are underway and the narrative is changing, despite the continuing effects of COVID-19.

Coco Papy is a community organizer, policy nerd, and born-and-bred Savannahian. As Deep’s Director of Public Policy and Communications, she works to shine a spotlight on the young people who are leading the way to a more just and equitable Savannah, as well as developing and advocating for grassroots-created policy and legislation. She is involved in numerous groups in Georgia, including the policy board of Planned Parenthood Southeast C4. She is the co-founder of the Political Rascals PAC, a Highlander Education Center Greensboro Justice Fellow, a PEN Prison Writing Fellow, an acting member of the state PAC, Georgia Win List, and a graduate of People for the American Way’s Front Line Leaders Academy. She also serves as a legal observer for the ACLU of Georgia and for the National Lawyers Guild as part of their mass defense support.