Good Call

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Good Call was founded in 2016 with the aim of leveraging technology to address the challenges faced by low-income New Yorkers in the criminal justice system.

Operating a 24/7 hotline, Good Call connects arrested individuals, or their loved ones, with free legal support, providing immediate access to attorneys who explain their rights and advise on next steps. This service aims to address the lack of timely legal intervention in communities that are often disenfranchised in the legal process.

“When folks are arrested, it’s like entering a black hole,” said Co-Founder and CEO Jelani Anglin. “They have no idea what’s happening, and their family has no idea where they are.”

Anglin emphasized that for low-income New Yorkers, the 24-48 hours following an arrest can be critical, with individuals vulnerable to coercion and loss of freedom without proper legal guidance.

“The time of being arrested is make or break,” Anglin said. “You could be coerced into signing a statement under duress. We just want to make sure we’re here, and we have the city’s back.”

Good Call’s services typically assist around 1,000 residents annually, but that number can spike depending on circumstances. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the organization saw its caseload quadruple in just one week.

As a 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Winner, Good Call benefits from a $100,000 ‘no strings attached’ grant for their work providing 24/7 free legal assistance to arrested individuals, ensuring timely legal intervention for underserved New Yorkers.

The funds from the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will allow Good Call to enhance its technology, providing attorneys with more efficient tools to navigate cases and better serve their clients.

“We want to provide the attorneys that are doing this work more efficient tools so that they can have a better experience. There’s a huge gap that exists in our communities – there’s a lack of resources, there’s a lack of education about the system, knowledge about what to do when arrested,” Anglin said.

Born from extensive research and collaboration with communities heavily affected by policing, especially in Brooklyn, Good Call has become a pivotal resource. Good Call has provided access to early legal intervention for more than 10,000 individuals from marginalized communities facing excessive and unnecessary arrests and unfair treatment by the criminal justice system, dramatically impacting the trajectory of their cases and disrupting the cycle of mass incarceration.