Meet Nia

In February 2024, I was arrested and burdened with an unaffordable $22,000 bail. I spent 76 agonizing days in a cage, alone and forgotten. I just thought about harming myself. I thought about not being here. I felt like nobody loved me, as nobody would even pick up the phone for me.

Too often, Black mamas and caregivers like me find ourselves condemned to a cage with no safety net, no support, and no one coming to us.

But in May 2024, just days before Mother’s Day, Andréa “Muffin” Hudson from the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham came to get me. The first person I saw was my ex-fiancé. I jumped into his arms, and he said, “Don’t hug me, hug that lady.” I looked over at her and gave her a big old hug. I cried in her arms. I didn’t know her from a can of paint, but in that moment, she meant everything to me.

Thanks to the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham, I was home for Mother’s Day. And the support didn’t stop at bail. I had lost everything because I needed a job, a car, and a house. Muffin helped me find work, secure housing, and access EBT. She didn’t just help me get out, she helped me start rebuilding my life.

Andréa "Muffin" Hudson of the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham (left)

Before my arrest, I had big dreams. I wanted to become a Licensed Practical Nurse, just like my mom. I was in school working toward my license before I got locked up. After graduating, I planned to work with the elderly. They remind me of my grandmother, who raised me and whom I love so much.

But while I was incarcerated, those dreams felt further away than ever. I spent 23 hours a day locked in a small room with nothing but a mat and a toilet. Jail is not a place you want to be. You’re drinking from the same toilet you’re using.

The trauma of incarceration still haunts me. All I want to do now is work and come home. I don’t want to go out. I don’t want to have fun. I don’t even want to hear police sirens or see the police. To this day, the sound of keys jangling makes me anxious; it takes me right back to that cell.

The mental and emotional toll of incarceration is devastating and lasting, even for people held for as little as 24 hours. It changes you. It stays with you.

The wreckage of the criminal punishment system tears through our communities every day. Our people are put in cages and lose their families, jobs, cars, and peace of mind. The longer we are held hostage behind bars, the harder it becomes to survive once we’re released. The more we come together to bail our people out, the more we expose the cash bail system and those who profit off our bodies and our suffering.

Because of your support, I am not only living, I am thriving. I truly believe I would still be there if it weren’t for you, just sitting in that cell, crying my eyes out, doing nothing.