Overview
Worth Rises is a non-profit advocacy group working to dismantle the prison industry and stop the exploitation of incarcerated people and their communities. It uses research, data collection, public education, and advocacy to expose how the criminal justice system is commercialized, including a database of 4,000+ corporations that profit from incarceration and harm scores for transparency. The organization follows a three-pillar approach: narrative work, policy changes, and corporate accountability to challenge the financial viability of mass incarceration. Its Connect Families Now campaign helped make prison and jail phone calls free in several states, saving families millions of dollars. The goal is to reduce and ultimately dismantle the prison industry by shifting policy, opinion, and corporate practices toward justice and accountability.
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Worth Rises' May 2026 report quantified $622 million family savings from free calls.
- Its August 2026 site update says free-call rules now cover 1.4 million incarcerated people.
- YesCare's May 2026 Chapter 11 bankruptcy validates Worth Rises' industry-targeting strategy.
What critics are saying
- Worth Rises depends on philanthropy; 2024 revenue was $2.4 million against $2.7 million expenses.
- Prison telecom and healthcare vendors, including YesCare, fight back with lobbying, lawsuits, and PR.
- If donor enthusiasm cools after 2026, staffing shrinks and campaign reach contracts quickly.
What makes Worth Rises unique
- Bianca Tylek combines Harvard Law, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and prison reform expertise.
- Worth Rises tracks 4,000-plus prison-industry corporations with harm scores and campaign intelligence.
- Its Connect Families Now work achieved free prison calls across multiple states by 2026.
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