Fight Poverty Today is bringing worker cooperatives to life in California prisons.
Our Mission
The LET-US-CONTRIBUTE INITIATIVE (LUCI) is a coalition led by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. We work hand-in-hand with organizations like Acterra and the Sustainable Economies Law Center (TheSELC) to fight poverty through policy change. Our current policy campaign will lead to the creation of worker co-operatives in California prisons, and channel 40% of earnings from these co-ops into business grants for low income people in high crime areas.
LUCI was founded by incarcerated people who are dedicated to fighting poverty today. We believe that economic justice is the only road to a truly equitable world, and our labor can help build that world.
Under the current prison labor system incarcerated workers are paid little or nothing, so we are not in a position to support our often struggling families, nor make material amends. In fact, we are a financial burden to society and our families. That is why we created this initiative.
The policy we advocate for will allow us to become productive taxpayers while incarcerated, and do our part in a world that needs all the help it can get.
We advocate for:
Economic Equity and Opportunity
Meaningful Policy Change
Empowering Individuals
Meet Our Team
Kelton O’Connor, Director (he/him)
Kelton is an incarcerated person who writes about the modern day asylum, the friends he has made in these places, and a range of public policy issues. He is a co-founder of Earth Equity, a food policy organizer, and the creator of Earth Equity’s Diabetes Justice Workshop curriculum — a course designed to help incarcerated people explore links between healing foods and healing the planet. He authored the Right 2 Heal (R2H) Strategy, a food justice proposal he was invited to submit as part of an advisory report to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s current prison reform project.
Kelton is pursuing an Associate degree in Liberal Arts at Mount Tamalpais College, where his scholarship relates to the role of meaningful work in anti-recidivism. Kelton has been invited to present his work at the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) as well as the Sustainable Economies Law Center Conference. His activism focuses on systems that heal both people and ecology. Kelton works to connect incarcerated people and people in reentry to career paths that increase opportunity for self actualization, community formation, and discovery of life mission. Presently this includes the areas of ocean stewardship and public advocacy. Kelton is particularly passionate about programmatic design and the advancement of Food Is Medicine systems.
Nateel Sharma, LUCI Advocate (he/him)
Nateel had the privilege of joining Earth Equity at San Quentin, where he was introduced to the concept of worker cooperatives within the prison system. This experience deepened his commitment to advocating for social justice programs that go beyond words and lead to meaningful action.
In 2023-2024, Nateel participated in an 11-month internship with State Senator Nancy Skinner. This experience offered him valuable insights into constituent services and the legislative process and further fueled his passion for political advocacy and policy work that benefits communities.
He is dedicated to advocating for the passage of legislation that allows incarcerated individuals to give back to their communities. In his own words, “I believe that providing resources and opportunities for people who have committed crimes is crucial in helping them reintegrate successfully and avoid returning to a life of crime. Having been incarcerated for 12 years myself, I am deeply motivated by the injustices I witnessed in the carceral system and eager to use my knowledge and passion to work towards meaningful policy change, guided by those who have inspired me along the way.”
Nateel is a student at Cal State East Bay, majoring in Political Science.
Amelia Tehrani, Research & Communications Volunteer (they/she)
Amelia is passionate about building community resiliency and worker solidarity. They believe we are strongest when we support each other. Over the last five years, they have spent time supporting families navigating injustices of the carceral system. These experiences have shown Amelia how transformative a worker owned Co-Op will be for currently and formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones.