Barred Business expands justice-impacted programs across Georgia

Barred Business is widening its work for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted people with new workforce, housing, voting rights and policy campaigns across Georgia and beyond. The Atlanta nonprofit says the expansion builds on its earlier emergency relief and aims to grow economic power, civic participation and legal protections.

Why it matters: - Barred Business is broadening support for justice-impacted people at a time when criminal history still blocks jobs, housing, voting access and business opportunities. - The nonprofit is pairing direct services with organizing and policy change, aiming to help formerly incarcerated people shape laws and systems that affect their lives. - The expansion reaches beyond Atlanta and Georgia, with plans that could influence advocacy in other states.

What happened: - Barred Business, an Atlanta-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, said it is expanding programs, campaigns and coalition partnerships across Georgia and the United States. - The organization said its growth includes education and empowerment efforts tied to legislation that would recognize justice-impacted people as a protected class. - Founder, CEO and Executive Director Bridgette “Bri” Simpson leads the organization. - Simpson is a formerly incarcerated woman and said her experience shapes the nonprofit’s approach. - Barred Business began in 2020 as an emergency response for justice-impacted entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The details: - Barred Business said its work now includes community organizing, policy advocacy, civic engagement, workforce development, housing support and economic justice. - During Q4 2026 and 2027, the organization plans to expand workforce development and housing support, the S.T.A.B.L.E. Program for formerly incarcerated Black women, and the BEST, EARN and ECOSYS campaigns. - The S.T.A.B.L.E. Program has supported more than 213 women, and 93% of participants achieved long-term financial security. - Barred Business also plans to grow the Protected Class Network in and beyond Atlanta. - Release the Vote, the organization’s voting rights campaign, is expanding to restore political power for justice-impacted people who are often left out of traditional voter outreach. - The campaign includes voter education, local canvassing, workshops and community organizing. - Through the Part of the Solution Festival and outreach across Georgia, Barred Business has reached more than 118,000 justice-impacted voters. - The campaign has also grown into a 16-county organizing strategy focused on rural Georgia and year-round civic engagement. - Barred Business said it is also running Know Your Rights Training, a virtual training and webinar series focused on civic education and practical self-advocacy. - The organization said BEST, EARN and ECOSYS are designed to build stability, economic security and opportunity for justice-impacted people, especially Black families. - Barred Business said it will continue work on mass probation, fines and fees, and job restrictions that limit economic mobility. - The nonprofit said its website is more information.

Between the lines: - The organization’s strategy has shifted from emergency relief to long-term infrastructure for advocacy, leadership development and economic mobility. - Barred Business is betting that local wins, such as protected-class policies, can be replicated in other places through the Protected Class Network. - Simpson framed the work as a response to the lingering effects of incarceration, saying the consequences follow people into employment, housing and entrepreneurship. - The expansion suggests Barred Business sees electoral participation, economic support and civil-rights policy as connected tools rather than separate efforts.

What’s next: - Barred Business plans continued growth in 2026 Q4 and 2027 through new program phases, coalition work and member support. - The nonprofit expects Protected Class organizing to continue in Georgia and more than a dozen other states. - Release the Vote is set to expand in future election cycles and beyond Georgia. - The organization said it will keep building campaigns aimed at broader state and national adoption of its model.

The bottom line: - Barred Business is turning a pandemic-era aid effort into a multi-state advocacy platform focused on voting rights, protected-class policy, workforce access and economic justice for justice-impacted people.