FIRSTChance Helps Women

First Chance Pays Bail for Women in Palm Beach County

First Chance helps indigent women avoid the devastating consequences of pretrial detention by paying the bail set by the court. The bail system fails women:

• It leads to better justice for the middle class and rich, and less justice for poor women who are often primarily responsible for family support and caregiving; it erases the presumption of innocence for them alone.

• It costs the taxpayers millions of dollars in unnecessary jail costs.

• It punishes women by disrupting their families, causing job loss and exposing them to a vicious cycle of crime.

• It encourages women to plead guilty just to get out of jail.

By failing women, the bail system fails our society.

First Chance is a Revolving Fund

It is a revolving fund that is supported by donations. More than 90% of the First Chance monies go directly to helping woman needing bail assistance. Because bail monies are returned to First Chance once they are released by the court at trial, the money is available to help other women in need on a continual basis. With this distinctive recycling feature, every donation helps multiple women and each donor makes an impact multiple times to rescue the lives of the many women who will receive bail monies.

In the short term, First Chance can’t change the bail system, but we can help women who are adversely affected and put them on the road to more productive lives.