As a celebrated leader and advocate, Roz actively advocated for the passage of two important bills this year: " Elder Parole " and " Fair Timely." These bills aim to address the needs of incarcerated individuals by providing parole opportunities for elderly prisoners and ensuring fair and timely access to justice within the criminal justice system. To support these initiatives, Roz co-organized several regional advocacy days, with another one scheduled for May 2024.
Roz has also been working on the " Care Act "( Compassion and Reproductive Equity)— which seeks to fight for the dignity and rights of incarcerated pregnant individuals, mothers, and babies— and the " Survivors Justice Agenda," an initiative aimed at improving access to the justice system for survivors and extending statutes of limitations in both criminal and civil cases. She is also pushing for the preservation of in-person visits through the " Protect in-Person Visits " campaign in collaboration with the Osborne Association.
This year, the Right / Write to Heal group completed a 5-week residency with the Classical Theatre of Harlem. As part of this residency, the group performed a staged reading at Women Building Up( WBU) in downtown Brooklyn. The group also travelled to Nairobi, Kenya in November to participate in the Africa Beyond the Bars conference. During this conference, the group supported the launch of the Clean Start program by Theresa Njoroge, which aims to provide support to formerly incarcerated individuals. They also conducted a panel discussion and writing workshop in collaboration with the program.
In April, Roz participated in Columbia University ' s Center for Justice ' s Beyond the Bars Annual Conference, and as an alumnus of the Women Transcending Collective Leadership cohort, sat on a panel for the Justice Beyond Punishment Stories of Healing and Justice initiative.
Roz also continued her collaborations with Brooklyn Law School, where she regularly spoke to students about her personal experience with incarceration. She is actively involved with The Women ' s Justice Project ' s " Gender Justice Initiative," which focuses on supporting formerly incarcerated women and girls. She also contributes to the efforts of RAPP( Release Aging People in Prison), advocating for the release of elderly individuals who are incarcerated.
In the coming year, she will lead the creation of a new writing program by facilitating a 12-week writing group with Rita Zimmer ' s Housing Plus. This program will coincide with the organization ' s transition into a new building located in the Bronx, providing writing support to individuals during this period of change.