9 Solidarity Commitments to/with Incarcerated People for 2021
I (@prisonculture) made this list for people who want to be part of supporting and working alongside incarcerated people this year and need some concrete ideas/steps. It is an incomplete list. But it is a good start. Please feel free to share this with others. If you have useful resources to add to this list, please email jjinjustice1@gmail.com.
** I updated this on July 17, 2022.
U.S. prison population trends: https://www.sentencingproject.org/research/ or https://www.vera.org/publications/people-in-jail-and-prison-in-2022
Incarcerated Women & Girls key facts & figures: https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/incarcerated-women-and-girls/
Learn about incarceration rates/trends in your particular state: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/
PIC abolition 101 virtual workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVh1Ff3eGfY
Follow the Money
Prison Policy Institute report: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/money.html
Worth Rises report: bit.ly/howitharms
Find people to write to here:
@survivepunish: https://survivedandpunished.org/letter-writing-action/
@BLACKandPINKorg: https://blackandpinkpenpals.org
Prison Solidarity Project - Letter Writing: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzfVtwXMkX5R_BFEFh8vxMBKa_xFtUOSIwrwXKVr6_ivcF6w/viewform
@nycabc: https://nycabc.wordpress.com/2020/11/27/guide_13-8/
@AbolitionChurch: https://www.abolitionapostles.com/become-a-penpal
Beyond These Walls: http://www.beyondthesewallslgbt.org (has a pen pal program you can sign up for)
Death Row Support Project: https://www.brethren.org/drsp/
Lifelines to Solitary: https://solitarywatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lifelines-Overview.pdf
Sick of It! An Inside/Outside Project -- https://www.sickofit.space/pen-pals
Prison Correspondance Project – https://prisonercorrespondenceproject.com
Pu’uhonua penpal – https://www.puuhonuapenpal.org
If you're looking for an incarcerated Massachusetts pen-pal check here: http://bit.ly/BPMA-list
**This is a wonderful comprehensive guide to finding incarcerated pen pals put together by Heather Mytelka:
The following organizations regularly organize phone zaps:
Connect with local books to prisoners programs & purchase books through their wishlists or donate funds so that they can purchase books: https://prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbooknetwork/
Or https://massivebookshop.com/collections/noname-book-club-hq
Or volunteer with a local bail fund to help bail people out of jail in 2021.
[In some facilities, you can apply to participate in video visitation. This can be a good option especially now as COVID is ravaging jails and prisons and facilities are suspending or canceling in person visitation. Look into this as an option.]
Here are a couple of reading lists: http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/essential-pic-reading-list/ and https://www.aaihs.org/prison-abolition-syllabus-2-0/
Or
Join an anti-criminalization reading group or create your own
Here’s one example of a past study group: https://www.abolisheverything.org/political-education
& here’s an example of a 6 week study guide that includes readings, videos, etc… that you can use to self-organize a study group: https://abolitionjournal.org/studyguide/
Here’s a template: http://freethemny.com
Here’s another grassroots organization, the Human Rights Coalition, operating without paid staff, working to support currently and formerly incarcerated people: https://www.hrcoalition.org/about.
Support REBUILD: https://findmeatherapist.org/about [URGENT NEED]
What else can you do using your skills and resources?
Answer reference letters from incarcerated people. Become a volunteer with the Prisons Library Support Network: https://plsn-reference.tumblr.com/be-a-volunteer
House a recently released incarcerated person in a vacant room/apartment/house
Donate housing subsidies to a local group that works with formerly criminalized people
Call or e-mail prosecutors to demand the release of incarcerated survivors
Make advocacy calls or write letters to support the release of people from prisons
Participate in direct actions and protests
Legally represent people in prisons and jails pro bono
Provide free remote mental health care to recently released people
Volunteer to create newsletters, resource directories etc… for local groups who work with formerly incarcerated people and their families
Connect with family members of incarcerated people and offer support
Volunteer to do courtwatching and participatory defense support
Facilitate community-based restorative justice circles co-led by formerly criminalized people
Write Op-Eds in your local paper calling for mass release of incarcerated people
Check out the following toolkit of actions to address the COVID pandemic’s devastating impacts on incarcerated people: bit.ly/covidprisontoolkit
**This is a version of the list published to the web: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRR6IALSI7L16B0AdDwQ4EZ2W3cKhRh2jE_OFcli13S-G3mLy3DzTjRehXerTM7HP2rjcIR2SJpV5ML/pub