When Donna Hylton was released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility after 27 years, she decided to dedicate her life to helping the formerly incarcerated protect their rights as they assimilate back into society. 

That’s the goal of her organization, A Little Piece of Light Foundation. She joined In Focus today to talk about one part of that fight: informing former inmates about the restoration of their right to vote in New York State, and getting them to the polls. 

Hylton said that, when then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that restored voting rights to those convicted of felonies who have served their time, not enough information was given to them by the Department of Corrections.

For example, people who are in jails like Riker’s Island around the city and the state, who haven’t been convicted of any crimes, still maintained their right to vote, but many don’t understand that. She’s battling to get the DoC to make sure those in jail get their absentee ballots, and members of her organization have been out there before this election, making certain that formerly incarcerated people are registered and that they have the help they need to get to the polls. 

She also touched on another cause close to her heart: the Adult Survivors Act, which would give survivors of sexual assault a window during which they can sue their abusers, no matter how long ago the abuse took place, much like the window given to survivors of child sexual abuse. 

As an abuse survivor herself, she says that giving survivors the chance to confront their abusers and getting some kind of justice, even if it is only civil justice, is something so many have been denied.