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From LA jail, two inmates pioneer care for mentally ill peers

Francine Kiefer

May 18, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles County, California

At the Los Angeles County Jail, two men incarcerated on pending murder charges created a homegrown approach to improving the care and conditions of confinement for people with serious mental illness. Their approach is simple: showing love and care for people whose illness makes them feel like outcasts. By helping fellow incarcerated men attend counseling and other programs, and by tending to their personal needs, the initiative has contributed to a significant drop in people harming themselves. Fewer restraints are needed, and the pods where the program operates are notably cleaner and calmer than before.

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Prioritizing Incarcerated People for Vaccine Quickly Reduced COVID in Illinois Prisons

Brian Dolinar

April 24, 2021 |

Truthout |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Illinois

After incarcerated people, their families, and advocates pressured the state of Illinois to prioritize offering the Covid vaccines to those in prison, the rate of Covid transmission among the population significantly declined. Although the rollout did not go entirely smoothly and guards have been reluctant to receive the shot, 69% of the incarcerated population in the state have been vaccinated.

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In Vermont, Isolating Inmates Kept Covid at Bay, but at a Price

Danya Issawi Derek M. Norman

April 21, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Vermont is the only state where no people incarcerated in prison died of COVID-19 in the first 12 months of the pandemic, and its infection rate is relatively low. The prisons took steps that other prison systems either didn't try or didn't do soon enough, including universal testing at least six times over the year; strict isolation of newly admitted prisoners for 14 days; occasional lockdowns of up to a month; early releases from prison; and keeping corrections officers housed separately from the community. The isolation measures hurt people's mental health, including one suicide and one attempt.

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How Norway's Prisons Have Weathered a Pandemic

Ted Alcorn

March 12, 2021 |

Think Global Health |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Norway

When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.

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How COVID Impacts Education — Prison Literature Club Adapts During COVID Lockdowns

Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider

March 11, 2021 |

Rafu Shimpo |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

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Will New York allow incarcerated people to access treatment for drug addiction?

Sam Mellins

March 05, 2021 |

New York Focus |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Medically assisted treatment is proven to reduce fatal opioid overdoses, particularly among formerly incarcerated people. When people are denied treatment in jail or prison and then resume their previous doses once they're released, they are up to 40 times more likely to die of an overdose. Only 18 of New York's county jails and fewer than one in five of its prisons provide access to such treatment drugs as Suboxone and methadone. When Rhode Island became the first state to make MAT available throughout its prisons, its overdose deaths among people recently released from incarceration dropped 60%.

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The 'Hidden Punishment' of Prison Food

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 02, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charleston, Maine

Mountain View Correctional Facility in Maine has turned its food service into a farm-to-table experience, sourcing healthier, more appetizing meals from its own apple orchard and vegetable garden and from local farmers. Prison food is traditionally a "hidden punishment" of bland or inedible fare that has poor nutritional value. By eating locally, cooking from scratch, and training incarcerated people in horticulture and cooking skills, the prison is fostering an atmosphere that's healthier physiologically and psychologically.

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Oklahoma County promised to fix its jail more than 10 year ago, but deaths and staffing issues continue

Brianna Bailey

February 22, 2021 |

The Frontier |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The U.S. Department of Justice documented dangerous conditions in the Oklahoma County Detention Center that led to a 2009 court settlement requiring the county to staff and fund its jail adequately. But the Justice Department failed to enforce the settlement. Staff shortages and poor conditions persist in the jail, leading to 84 deaths since 2009, seven in the past three months. The county knew it would need voter approval to raise taxes or borrowing to pay for the jail reforms, but it never followed through and was not held to account by the federal overseers.

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How a project is training incarcerated people to become journalists

Julia Métraux

January 26, 2021 |

Poynter |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

In its first year, the Prison Journalism Project published hundreds of articles by more than 140 incarcerated writers in 28 states. The project provides journalism-skills training and then a platform for the work of incarcerated journalists. This delivers news and viewpoints that otherwise would not be heard by outsiders, spreading awareness of prison conditions and empowering often-ignored people to tell their stories.

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Zoom Funerals, Outdoor Classes: Jails and Prisons Evolve Amid the Pandemic

Keri Blakinger

January 19, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

When the pandemic forced jails and prisons to ban educational classes and cut off visits between outsiders and their loved ones behind bars, some jailers opened their facilities to remote-learning and -visiting tools. The result is a boom in the use of video conferencing for literacy classes, vocational training, family visits, and even to enable incarcerated people to attend family funerals. Some advocates for the incarcerated worry that in-person interactions could permanently be replaced by video, even after the risk of viral infection has eased.

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