A nonprofit organization in the Bronx plans to expand its effort to help low-income defendants with bail money.
 
The Bronx Freedom Fund is joining the Bail Project, a national effort with a goal of keeping 160,000 people out of jail in the next five years. The organization currently serves 100 clients a month. It helps provide bail for low-level offenders who cannot afford to get themselves out of jail.
 
Elena Weissmann, the director at Bronx Freedom Fund, says 96 percent of the organization's clients show up for their appearances so the bail money is returned and helps fund the next case.
 
"Money is not a necessary incentive for people to return to court," says Weissmann. "People want to return to court."
 
The Bronx Freedom Fund now plans to expand to Queens to help more people and aid in its effort to reform the bail system.