APRIL 2010

THE MAY ISSUE WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE 15TH, AS WILL BE ALL FUTURE MONTHS.

BUILDING BRIDGES posts late breaking announcements and reports when they occur between our monthly editions. Following are this month's. [To go directly to the April 1 edition, please scroll down a bit.]




POSTED MAY 11 Gerard T. Balone

Just a quick reminder that my story of rehabilitation and redemption is going to be featured on The 700 Club on Thursday, May 13, 2010. I know that in the Buffalo NY area, it's going to be shown on Chanel 4 between 9:00 and 10:00 A.M. In other areas, people will have to check their local listings. Please share this information with your family and friends. After watching the show, I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks. - Jerry

Gerald T. Balone, MS, MPS, Email



POSTED APRIL 28 Correctional Association

Saturday May 15 11am - 3pm Drop the Rock Empowerment Day. Join in the movement to reduce incarceration in NYS. Petition for prison closures, criminal justice reform, and community reinvestment.
Register New Yorkers to vote.
Educate New Yorkers on the prison industrial complex.

Sign up for your neighborhood team by contacting Caitlin Dunklee.



POSTED April 28 NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)

The NAACP has crafted a new brochure, educating readers to the injustice of denying citizens convicted of felonies from voting, not only while incarcerated, but in some cases for the rest of their lives. Click here to see it, and spread the word.



Posted April 20 All Things Harlem

We are looking for video editors and post-production people with experience to join our team. Our mission is to continue to provide a video platform for the Harlem community to have their voices heard. If you aren't familiar with our work check us out at www.allthingsharlem.com or www.youtube.com/allthingsharlem.

If you are looking to practice or perfect your craft while being a part of a meaningful organization and mission then this is the place for you. College students/Grads looking for internships are welcome and encouraged to apply. Please send your resume and a brief description of why you would like to work with us to info@allthingsharlem .

For more information about our who we are read this NY TImes article www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/nyregion/18harlem.html?_r=2.

Thanks, Jazz



POSTED APRIL 19 The Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation for Low Income Women and Children

Offering 5 grants of up to $2000 each to low income mothers who are enrolled in education and/or training programs. Applications will be accepted from May 1, 2010 through July 15, 2010.

Please see the foundation website, www.patsyminkfoundation.org, for eligibility criteria and application materials.



POSTED APRIL 13 A National Speaking Tour of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty
"Lynching Then, Lynching Now: the Roots of Racism & the Death Penalty in the U.S."

Wednesday, April 21, 7 PM Join us for a teach-in tour stop at City College of New York City,

This year's tour looks at the historic link between the death penalty and lynching in the United States. Hear from those who have been freed from death row, activists and scholars on the role of racism in our criminal justice system and why the death penalty and unjust sentencing need to be abolished.

Speakers:
Marvin Reeves - Police torture victim and former IL prisoner, freed in 2009
Yusef Salaam – Exonerated in the Central Park Jogger case (NYC). Board member, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Lawrence Hayes – Former NY death row prisoner
Marlene Martin - National Director, Campaign to End the Death Penalty

CITY COLLEGE NAC BUILDING
137th Street & Amsterdam Avenue
BALLROOM
7 PM

The CCNY tour stop is sponsored by Amnesty International USA Local Group 11, Correctional Assoc. of New York, Drop the Rock, Educators for Mumia, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition-NYC, Grassroots Artists Movement (G.A.Me), International Socialist Organization The Paper (CCNY)
(list in formation -- email nyc@nodeathpenalty.org to endorse).
Visit the national tour blog at cedptour.blogspot.com




POSTED APRIL 13 FROM Bed-Stuy Farm Share and Hattie Carthan Community Garden

We have worked long and hard to produce "Eating Healthy in Bed-Stuy," a comprehensive community healthy guide that addresses the specific health epidemics in the community (diabetes and heart disease) and provides health tips and a directory of community groups working to provide access to fresh produce. We won an award from desigNYC for pro-bono design work and Art Director Darhil Crooks of Esquire Magazine is doing layout for the booklet. Once printed, the guide will be made available for FREE at our neighborhood health clinics, hospitals and schools. It'll be great; we just have to get money together for printing now.

Please make a donation at IOBY.org today to help us print this guide and get it in the hands of parents before the school year is over! Any little itty bit of money will help us reach our goal.

lauren melodia
www.bedstuyfarmshare.org



POSTED APRIL 10 From AFSC Prison Watch Project

The American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch Project is planning to update the Fall 2001 "Torture in US Prisons – Evidence of US Human Rights Violations." We are seeking testimonies from men, women and children relating to the use of extended isolation and devices of torture (use of force, chemical and physical restraints, other living conditions, forced double celling in isolation, etc.). We will also be accepting drawings and photos.

Our deadline is June 15th. We will only be able to acknowledge by form letter. Unless otherwise authorized the publication will use first name, last initial and facility only. Please send to Bonnie Kerness, AFSC, 89 Market St., 6th floor, Newark, NJ 07102.

Without your input, this publication would not be possible. Our gratitude. Bonnie Kerness BKerness@afsc.org



POSTED APRIL 9: From The Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services Inc. (Cases) and the Legal Aid Society -

UNDERSTANDING AND NAVIGATING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

An upcoming training, the 101 introduction to the New York City Criminal Justice System. The goal of the training is to de-mystify the complex criminal justice system and help providers learn where they can most effectively advocate for their clients.

This free all day training is intended for case managers, ACT, day treatment, clinic, substance abuse, vocational, shelter and supportive housing staff working with people with mental illness. This training follows the process of a criminal case from arrest through to conviction, indicating the points at which there is room for treatment interventions.

The training will be offered on April 23rd 2010
9:30 am - 4:00 pm
CASES, Inc.
346 Broadway, 6th Floor Training Room
New York, NY 10013

Registration is required as space is limited. To register with your name, title, agency and contact phone number, please click here.

For additional information, please call: (212) 553-6343




BUILDING BRIDGES APRIL 2010


Dear Reader: There will be no May issue of Building Bridges, as your editor is taking a month's sabbatical to answer the backlog of mail that has accumulated in the past few months. Meanwhile continue to be well, keep the faith, and share the news!


INDEX

1. Activities for advocates, statewide
2. Coalition ready to move forward
3. Downscaling prisons
4. Drug war analysis is subject of book by Michelle Alexander
5. ICARE column - census issues
6. The Judicial Process Commission
7. Lifers and Longtermers Clearinghouse
8. Milk not Jails
9. NYS Prisoner Justice Conference
10. Parole news
11. Prison media
12. Prisoners of the Census
13. Telephone Justice - new rates

[For copies of any document, article or legislation referred to in any of the above, please send an email to PAN with a request clearly stating name of the document and in which issue of Building Bridges it was mentioned.]


1. WHAT CAN YOU DO? HERE’S A LIST OF ACTIVITIES

BUFFALO:
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 6:30-8:30 PM PRISONERS ARE PEOPLE TOO
PRP2! programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng. For further information, contact Karima Amin: 716-834-8438; karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org.

At the next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too, the work of "Families Can," based in Buffalo, will be highlighted. "Families CAN" helps families of children involved in family court, juvenile justice, PINS (persons in need of supervision), detention and probation. The "Families CAN" brochure describes this initiative as… "an independent, non-profit organization, designed, created and directed by family members for the purpose of ensuring access to needed support, information, and services to all families in Erie County raising children with emotional, behavioral, and/or social challenges."

Guest speakers will include Mr. Kenneth Pryor who is the Program Coordinator for "Families CAN"  and Ms. Tanya Hernandez who serves as a Family Support Partner. 

Location: Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo.


CAPITAL DISTRICT:
SECOND AND FOURTH WEDNESDAYS FROM 6-8PM ROOTS "RE-ENTRY RESOURCES ORIENTATIONS" for Men and Women
at the Monastery, 428 Duane Avenue , Schenectady, NY
SECOND AND LAST THURSDAYS from 6-8 at Christ United Methodist, 35 State Street, at 4th Avenue, Troy, NY .
THIRD THURSDAYS from 6-8 at Trinity Institution, 15 Trinity Place, Albany NY

Call ROOTS at 518 434 1026 for more details.


MANHATTAN:
THURSDAY, APRIL 1ST FROM 2:30-4:30. DEMOS MEETING to discuss a downstate strategy for obtaining the right to vote and to be counted in our home communities, and to begin talking about a May action.
Please rsvp to Susan(slerner@commoncause.org) or Steve (scarbo@demos.org)

Location: Demos, 220 5th Avenue, 5 fl., New York, NY 10001


TUESDAY, APRIL 13 6- 8 PM INCARCERATED FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP SPONSORED BY COALITION FOR PAROLE RESTORATION.
Do you have questions about visitation, tickets, appeals? Is your loved one going to the parole board and needs assistance preparing for the hearing? Join us on the second Tuesday of every month.

Location: North Star Fund, 520 8th Avenue, btw 36th and 37th Ave in Manh.

CPR is also looking for individuals who visit a prison at least once a month to serve as Support Group Coordinators and to disseminate information about CPR to visitors and people in prison. They will be compensated by receiving free membership to CPR for themselves and family members in prison for as long as they serve as the Coordinator. It includes a free copy of the newly revised parole preparation manual and assistance with preparing a parole packet for their loved one in prison. Anyone interested can contact Mark McPhee or James Rivers at 718-786-4174 or by email to parolecpr@yahoo.com .


TUESDAY MAY 4, 6:30 AM TO 10 PM NEW YORK REENTRY'S ALBANY ADVOCACY DAY
Buses depart from: Community Service Society, 105 East 22nd St. corner Park Ave So. and Fortune Society's Castle, corner 140th St. and Riverside Drive. Transportation is free, breakfast and lunch will be provided.

RSVP: to Gabriel Torres-Rivera by email or at 212 614 5306


STATEN ISLAND
TUESDAY APRIL 13, 7 PM CIRCLE OF LOVE PRISON SUPPORT GROUP
Serving those and the families of those who have been impacted by incarceration and the circumstances surrounding it. For more info, please contact: Christine Brown – (917) 215-5831, Antoinette Donegan – (646) 932-3295, Arlinda McDowell – (917) 856-4301 or email.

Location: Central Family Life Center, 59 Wright St., S.I. NY 10304



2. COALITION FOR FAIR CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICIES - WHILE PRISON ACTION NETWORK AGREES THAT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM WITH A RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM, WE ARE WORKING ON CREATING REFORMS NOW THAT WILL MOVE US CLOSER TO A RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE FUTURE.

The NYS Prisoner Justice Conference was a success!  We had a full house, and everyone was energized and willing to work hard to correct the wrongs that we all agreed exist.   

I came away from the event with a stronger resolve than ever to answer the mandate of the Family Empowerment Day participants who joined to form the Coalition For Fair Criminal Justice Policies.  They voted to work to move the Parole Board away from being able to deny parole based solely on the nature of the crime or criminal history.  Out of the Coalition was born a Policy Committee charged with the task of changing the law that sets Parole Board policies.  That has been done in the form of a proposal for amending Exec law 259-i.   Now we need to begin the next stage, moving our proposal into reality as a law of New York State.

The proposed changes would ensure that no one ever again gets denied parole because of the nature of their crime or their criminal history.  Instead, parole release would be solely determined by the parole applicant's success at eliminating the conditions, behaviors, and thinking that led to his or her arrest in the first place.  Once a parole applicant can produce evidence of rehabilitation and readiness for a return to society without posing a threat, they should be released.  And then it becomes the community's responsibility, with the assistance of the division of parole, to help them with their reintegration.

The first step in making our proposal a law is to find a sponsor in both houses of our legislature.  The legislators in turn need to convince other legislators to support it.  We have to find a sponsor, and we have to convince our own representatives to get on board.  

In order for legislators to sponsor a bill, we need to convince them it is in their best interests, as well as in the interests of their constituents, to change the law.  ALL the legislators in Albany will be up for reelection soon.  So no matter who your representative is, they will need your vote to get reelected.  The next few month are our window of opportunity.  We have more power right now than we will have for another 4 years.  So we must seize the moment!

One of our members suggested we come up with a statement that we then present to our legislators with a promise to support their reelection if they will pledge to support it.  I think that's a great idea.
At the same time,we need to convince those legislators in Albany who already are aligned with our interests to have the courage to sponsor our proposed bill.  
And we need to educate other voters about the issues behind our proposed changes, so that we can increase support and minimize opposition.  
These are not tasks for just a few.  We will need to all  work together.

There are many other worthy causes, but I am calling on you to join us at this time to move forward with total commitment to the passage of the proposed amendments to Exec. Law 259-i.  If you are willing and interested in joining a steering committee for moving forward, please let us know by return mail.  It will require attending conference calls. We must get started immediately.  The window will not be open for long!



3. DOWNSCALING PRISONS - REPORT RELEASED BY JUSTICE STRATEGIES AND THE SENTENCING PROJECT FINDS THAT FOUR STATES HAVE REDUCED THEIR PRISON POPULATIONS WITHOUT ANY INCREASES IN CRIME. THIS CAME ABOUT AT A TIME WHEN THE NATIONAL PRISON POPULATION INCREASED BY 12%, AND IN SIX STATES PRISON POPULATION INCREASED BY MORE THAN 40%.

From the report:
At the high end, six states expanded their prison populations by more than 40 percent – West Virginia (57 percent), Minnesota (51 percent), Arizona (49 percent), Kentucky (45 percent), Florida (44 percent), and Indiana (41 percent).

Declines:
New York: A 20% reduction from 72,899 to 58,456 from 1999 to 2009
Michigan: A 12% reduction from 51,577 to 45,478, from 2006 to 2009
New Jersey: A 19% reduction from 31,493 to 25,436, from 1999 to 2009
Kansas: A 5% reduction from 9,132 to 8,644, from 2003 to 2009

Crime rates began to decline in 1991 and within a decade residents of New York City were celebrating a 64 percent drop in reported violent crimes. Yet by 1999, New York taxpayers were spending $100 million more on prisons than on the state college system.

The first significant path around sentencing roadblocks contained in the Rockefeller Drug Laws had been blazed back in 1990 by Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. Hynes created the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program (DTAP) on the premise that many people facing a mandatory prison term as repeat felony offenders might benefit from diversion to treatment instead of imprisonment, improving their chances of rehabilitation at far less cost to taxpayers. Hynes is a veteran prosecutor and a savvy politician. He understood that damage was being done to families and communities in Brooklyn by mass incarceration policies and strict adherence to the Rockefeller Drug Laws. He listened and responded to consistent, vocal pressure from his constituents, who were demanding that alternatives be provided for their children, neighbors and friends.

Click here to view the report.



4. DRUG WAR: THE NEW JIM CROW: MASS INCARCERATION IN THE AGE OF COLORBLINDNESS IS THE LATEST BOOK BY LEGAL SCHOLAR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE MICHELLE ALEXANDER, IN WHICH SHE ARGUES THAT ALTHOUGH JIM CROW LAWS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED, THE RACIAL CASTE SYSTEM IT SET UP WAS NOT ERADICATED. IT’S SIMPLY BEEN REDESIGNED, AND NOW RACIAL CONTROL FUNCTIONS THROUGH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

From an interview with Michelle Alexander on Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman:

The war on drugs has been waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color, even though studies have consistently shown that people of color are no more likely to use or sell illegal drugs than whites. In these ghetto communities millions of people of color have been branded felons for relatively minor, nonviolent drug offenses. And once branded a felon, they’re ushered into a permanent second-class status, not unlike the one we supposedly left behind. Those labeled felons may be denied the right to vote, are automatically excluded from juries, and my be legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education, public benefits, much like their grandparents or great grandparents may have been discriminated against during the Jim Crow era.

The war on drugs, contrary to popular belief, was not declared in response to rising drug crime. Actually, the war on drugs, the current drug war, was declared in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan at a time when drug crime was actually on the decline. But the drug war had relatively little to do with drug crime, even from the outset.

The drug war was launched in response to racial politics, not drug crime. The drug war was part of the Republican Party’s grand strategy, often referred to as the Southern strategy, an effort to appeal to poor and working-class white voters who felt vulnerable, threatened by the gains of the civil rights movement, particularly desegregation, busing and affirmative action. And the Republican Party found that it could get Democrats—white, working-class poor Democrats—to defect from the Democratic New Deal coalition and join the Republican Party through racially coded political appeals on issues of crime and welfare.

The strategy worked like a charm. Within weeks of the Reagan administration’s publicity campaign around crack cocaine, images of black crack users and crack dealers flooded our nation’s television sets and forever changed our nation’s conception of who drug users and dealers are. Law enforcement efforts which targeted poor communities of color in the drug war have been rewarded for drastically increasing the volume of drug arrests. Federal funding flows to state and local law enforcement that boost the volume of drug arrests.

Many people think the drug war has been targeted at violent offenders or aimed at rooting out drug kingpins, but nothing could be further from the truth. Local and state law enforcement agencies get rewarded for the sheer numbers of drug arrests. And federal drug forfeiture laws allow state and local law enforcement officials to keep 80 percent of the cash, cars, homes that they seize from suspected drug offenders, granting to law enforcement a direct monetary interest in the profitability and longevity in the drug war.

The results have been predictable. Millions of poor people of color have been rounded up for relatively minor nonviolent drug offenses. In fact, in 2005, four out of five drug arrests were for possession. Only one out of five were for sales. Most people in state prison for drug offenses have no history of violence or significant selling activity. And during the 1990s, the period of the greatest expansion of the drug war, nearly 80 percent of the increase in drug arrests were for marijuana possession, a drug now widely believed to be less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and at least as prevalent in middle-class and suburban white communities as it is in the ghetto.

This vast new racial undercaste—and I say “caste”, not “class,” because this is a population which is locked into an inferior status by law and by policy—this vast population has been rendered largely invisible through affirmative action and the appearance of success with a handful of African Americans doing well in universities and corporations. Yet the drug war waged in these poor communities of color has created generations of black and brown people who have been branded felons and relegated to a permanent second-class status for life. We have known, as a nation, for a long time now that simply prohibiting drug activity does not lead people to stop using illegal drugs. We learned that lesson with alcohol prohibition. Banning the use of alcohol didn’t discourage many people from using or selling alcohol. And people of color are no more likely to use or sell illegal drugs than whites. Our stereotype of a drug dealer in the United States is of an African American kid standing on a street corner with his pants hanging down. But the reality is that drug dealing happens everywhere in America. Drug markets in the United States, much like our society generally, is relatively segregated by race. Blacks tend to sell to blacks. Whites tend to sell to whites.



5. ICARE COMMUNITY EDUCATOR JAFAR ABBAS WRITES ABOUT THE CENSUS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF WHERE INCARCERATED PEOPLE ARE COUNTED

Prisoners in New York State’s Department of Correctional Services are not allowed to vote and, in most cases, have no involvement whatsoever in the political process of local, state or federal government.  So who speaks for them?  Who voices their concerns on a political level and who will be their voice for the 2010 Census? 

The Census has been described as, “Your voice to the government.”  With that voice we can color a picture of ourselves and our communities.  We can tell government where our communities stand, what they stand upon, how they are growing and most of all what they need to continue growing.

But how do New York State's sixty thousand prisoners get the opportunity to tell the government about themselves and their communities?  The truth of the matter is they cannot.

I was counted without a voice or community in the 1990 and 2000 Census.  I had little knowledge of the political and economic importance the Census numbers had on communities.  To me the Census was simply a counting of people for the purpose of knowing how many were in the country.  Most of all I, like many other prisoners, had no idea that I was being claimed as a resident of upstate and therefore providing political and economic benefits to a community not my own.

Close to 70% of the NYS prison population lived in New York's urban communities at the time of their arrest.  These communities then and now struggle with social problems ranging from public safety to caring for their elderly.  Some of these problems could be resolved in part by simply counting incarcerated people among the communities in which they lived while in the free society.  This will allow for a greater portion of the 400 billion in Federal funds being spent to improve community services, (such as job training, hospitals, roads, emergency services, schools, etc.) to be spent in the much needed urban communities. 

Some upstate districts with large prison populations will be counting the people incarcerated in their prisons as residents in the 2010 Census.  Should they be allowed to do so?

This question is being addressed by bills pending in both the NYS Senate and Assembly.  The Senate Bill (S6725) was introduced by Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, and the Assembly Bill (A9834) was introduced by Assembly member Hakeem Jeffries.  These bills, if passed, will require that the home addresses of incarcerated people be collected by the Census Bureau and that the state and county governments draw new legislative districts based on this data. 

Of course there is opposition to these bills because some districts would grow politically and economically while other districts might disappear altogether.

Over 90% of incarcerated people being released will return to build lives in the communities they were arrested in.  They will return knowing their actions contributed to the drop in property values and the disappearance of businesses which found too little return on their investment.  These formerly incarcerated people will return wanting to make positive contributions to their communities.  What better place to start repairing the damage then to be counted as a resident of the community you will be coming home to.

- Jafar Abbas



6. THE JUDICIAL PROCESS COMMISSION REPORTS ON THE WOMEN'S PROJECT, AND THE NEED TO ADDRESS ANTI-BULLYING POLICIES

The Women's Project is Right on Track! By Mary Boite
  We believe that working with incarcerated women who are pregnant or have small children will reduce recidivism. We are very pleased to announce that we have recently completed part of the process that will allow us to do that. We recently trained 13 new women as volunteer mentors, who have committed to work with the Women's Project. Victims' advocates from the Monroe County Sheriff's Department donated their time to provide a training event on Victims' Trauma and Recovery, for the new mentors. JPC staff has also started to interview women in the Monroe County Correctional Facility, to begin the selection process. New staff members are being trained in the use of the SAQ, a risk assessment tool that we will be using in the project. We are grateful that they launched the Project even before the funds have arrived.

Schools Need to Address Anti-Bullying Policies, By Joel Freedman
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) recently filed a federal lawsuit against the Mohawk Central School District for failing to protect Jacob, a Herkimer County youngster, from vicious bullying by other students.
            While Jacob, who is gay and who speaks in a high-pitched voice, was constantly being assaulted, harassed and threatened by bullies, teachers refused to intervene. At least one teacher contributed to this climate of violence by telling Jacob he should be ashamed of himself for being gay. The lawsuit contends that protection from harm in public schools is a basic right protected by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
            An 11-year old Massachusetts boy recently hanged himself in response to constant torment at school. Bullying is being blamed for two recent suicides linked to Schenectady High School. Other tragic consequences of bullying include increased mental health problems, substance abuse among victims, and occasional retaliatory violence such as that in April 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado.
            International research confirms large numbers of imprisoned adults were bullies as youngsters.
            Bullying is uncommon on college campuses. Most colleges have zero-tolerance policies against bullying.
            In New York, BILL A 3661-B, similar to measures already enacted in several states, would prohibit at-school harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex.            Sadly, this bill has repeatedly stalled in the state Senate (S1987-A).
            Whether the state mandates it by law or not, area school districts should establish zero-tolerance anti-bullying policies. Local human welfare agencies, family courts, law enforcement youth officers, district attorneys and other local officials should be included in establishing such policies.
            On a larger scale, coming to grips with the problem of violence in our society has become a major challenge. Schools are a good place to impress upon young people the need to treat others with respect, and to help establish a culture of non-violence and compassion for all.

285 Ormond Street, Rochester, NY 14605 585-325-7727; www.rocjpc.org; email info@rocjpc.org.



7. LIFERS AND LONGTERMERS CLEARINGHOUSE

Moving Toward A Statewide Prisoner Justice Network

The Prisoner Justice Network Conference held on Saturday March 27th  In Albany was a great success. More than fifty-five organizations from across the state sponsored it, and close to 200 individuals participated in what many had thought was an audacious undertaking.

To my mind the biggest hurdles to be overcome were 1) to entice a convincing number of organizations with varying and seemingly opposing ideologies to gather together in one place from all parts of the State, and 2) to measure the differences and commonalities among groups with varying criminal justice issues, so as to gage whether a unifying compromise was possible.

The fact that over fifty-five organizations showed up and had members in attendance, easily passed the test of the first hurdle.  The second hurdle was overcome by holding workshops that posed major criminal justice issues and approaches, and then sought responses from the perspective of the individual participants.  The results clearly showed greater commonality than differences, and a positive indication that unifying compromise would be possible.

And so we have the answer to the major hurdles: Yes, there is a statewide interest in forming a statewide prisoner justice network, and yes, there is positive indication that a unifying compromise between the registered organizations is indeed possible!

Above and beyond the two hurdles was the omnipresent mood among those from all sections of the State; among both the young and the aged, spanning all ideologies, there loomed an undeniable feeling, expressed verbally and on the non-verbal level, that the criminal justice system is not working! That it cannot be trusted and that instead of "blind justice", the criminal justice system had taken sides!!!

The question that that those behind the walls must ask is simply this: how will a prisoner justice network best service my interests?  One thing for sure is that such a statewide network cannot undertake the personal cases and legal problems of individuals imprisoned behind the walls. The reasons why should be obvious; the network is not designed to handle individual clients.  This is only one of the issues that must be made clear and with which we will deal in future Clearinghouse articles.

Larry Luqman White



8. MILK NOT JAILS: IF RURAL NY’S ECONOMIC SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON MY HABITS, I’D RATHER DRINK THEIR MILK THAN SEND MY CHILD TO THEIR PRISON!
 
There are two major economic crises facing rural, upstate NY:
1.Dairy farmers are being forced to sell off their herds and close their businesses, because federal agricultural policy and subsidy programs put farmers in a situation this past year where they lost money to produce milk.
 2. Prison employees are fighting to keep empty prisons open that are slated for closure amidst a major state fiscal crisis.  These prisons are situated in isolated depressed, rural towns and are, in some places, the only stable, good paying jobs in town.
 
MILK NOT JAILS is a consumer campaign to mobilize NY residents to support the dairy industry and the long-term sustainability of the rural economy.  It is a political campaign to advocate for criminal justice and agricultural policy reform that will bring positive economic growth. 

MILK NOT JAILS insists that bad criminal justice policy should not be the primary economic development plan for rural, upstate NY. 

For information or to make a comment, please send an email to milknotjails@gmail.com. 



9. THE NEW YORK STATE PRISONER JUSTICE CONFERENCE: "LOVE IN A PUBLIC SPACE"

The mission of the New York State Prisoner Justice Conference was to bring together the varied and diverse organizations and individuals working for prisoner justice in New York State.  In that it succeeded beyond all expectations! The day was filled with high energy and enthusiasm for the cause of justice.

At the end of the event a press conference was held which included speakers Larry White, Shoshana Brown, Karima Amin, and Victorio Reyes.

Mr. Larry White served as chairman of a number of inmate reform organizations during his thirty-two years of imprisonment, and is now the Community Advocate and Policymaker Liaison for the Fortune Society's David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy. Larry is also a member of the Policy Committee of the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies.

Shoshana A. Brown, representing youth involvement in the justice movement, is a community organizer and social worker currently working at the Bronx Defenders as a client advocate.  Ms. Brown has organized welfare recipients at Community Voices Heard, is a member of Paulo Freire’s Education for Liberation/Popular Education training team, and has an extensive background in student activism. 

Karima Amin is the founder and director of Prisoners are People Too, and co-chair of the Erie County Prisoners Rights Coalition, both based in Buffalo, NY.  For 30 years, Karima's activism has prevailed in public school education and the performing arts.  Her social justice work has focused on the plight of prisoners and the challenges of reentry and she was recently named "Distinguished Humanitarian of 2009" by the University of Buffalo's College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association.

Victorio Reyes is an activist, poet, musician and father of two.  He has been the director of The Social Justice Center of Albany (SJC) for over five years, an organization that works for progressive social change through mutual support and collective action. Mr. Reyes states: “The Criminal Justice System, as a whole, is the most discriminatory institution in our community and the court room is today's lunch counter."

Over the next 4 months their speeches, to the extent they are available, will be published in Building Bridges, starting in this issue with Ms. Brown's:

"'Justice is what love looks like in public.' That quote from Dr. Cornel West guides the work that I do, so I like to start off today with that in mind'", were the opening words of Shoshana Brown's rousing address. She continued:

"I grew up in the heart of the South Bronx, Forest Projects to be exact. Forest Houses is situated in between the 42nd and 41st Precincts, also known infamously as Fort Apache, an homage to the relationship and view of the community by the police that worked there. Throughout my life I have seen family, friends, and my community plagued with the over-policing and mass incarceration of my brothers and sisters. Growing up watching people constantly getting torn apart by a society infiltrated and saturated with racism, sexism, and classism pushed me to be the person that I am and to fight for justice, love in public spaces.

My privilege of education and positional power charges me with the task of holding our elected and criminal justice officials accountable.  I fight because I have witnessed the failures of a punitive system that doesn’t do what it promises to do, rehabilitate my brothers and sisters so that they can move forward in society and live productive lives. Consistently and inadvertently this system contributes to a cycle of violence, poverty, and mass incarceration. This inhumane system must be challenged.

At the Bronx Defenders I have been fortunate to have the privilege of fighting for my brothers and sisters everyday in a direct service manner and also on a larger policy and organizing level through my work with the NYS Prisoner Justice conference. The Bronx Defenders, using a holistic model that recognizes criminality as a matter of circumstance and not character, represents people in 12,000 criminal cases every  year.  Overall, over 76,000 people are arrested every year in the Bronx.   As a Client Advocate and Social Worker, I see so many clients come through the system because of the lack of education, lack of resources, and support. Many have various mental health issues that relate directly to their charges. They are forced to spend time in jail and prison with inadequate resources to treat their mental health, instead of receiving the more appropriate and effective help they need in the community to be productive and successful members of our society. They are sent far away from their families where over time connections, energy, and relationships disintegrate. They are forced to re-enter a community that can barely support itself, let alone someone who needs extra resources for re-entering into a society they have become estranged from.

I remember my stepfather going to prison, and not seeing him for over a year, because I was in school and my mother worked. We never had time to visit him so far away. After he came back the relationships he had with us were gone and he was never able to piece back together the life he once had as a productive member of society inclusive of a job.

To this day I still don’t know how jail was helpful to him, nor do I think it “taught him a lesson”. The only thing I see is a man torn apart by a system that has always been against him. Constantly in struggle to regain his life and piece himself back together without any help or resources, and no one to tell him what his rights are and/or where he would be eligible for the little amount of re-entry help available.

For all these reasons and with all these experiences this conference needed to happen. I stand before you today bearing witness and speaking truth to power. I am excited and energized by an amazing experience. This conference has blossomed into an awesome and expansive network of people and organizations. Something that hasn’t been done before started as a humble idea by a few organizers and expanded into a statewide need for unity and justice, "love in a public space"!"



10. PAROLE NEWS: PAROLE BOARD STATISTICS

FEBRUARY 2010 PAROLE BOARD RELEASES – A1 VIOLENT FELONS – DIN #s through 1999
unofficial research from parole database

TOTAL INTERVIEWS........ # RELEASED.....# DENIED....RATE OF RELEASE
17 initials.............................5......................... 12.................. 29%
47 reappearances............. 16......................... 31.................. 34%
64 total...............................21......................... 43.................. 33%

February Initial Release
FACILITY.............................. SENTENCE....OFFENSE...# OF BOARD
Midstate............................... 20-Life.......... Murder 2.......Initial
Otisville................................ 15-Life.......... Murder 2.......Initial
Otisville................................ 15-Life.......... Murder 2.......Initial
Shawangunk...................... 25-Life.......... Murder 2.......Initial
Shawangunk...................... 25-Life.......... Murder 2.......Initial

February Reappearances
FACILITY.................. SENTENCE............ OFFENSE.... # OF BOARD
Auburn..................... 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 5th
Gowanda................. 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 6th
Greenhaven............ 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 3rd
Marcy........................ 15-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 5th
Mid Orange............. 15-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 10th
Mid Orange............. 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 3rd
Mid Orange............. 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 2nd
Mid Orange............. 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 4th
Mid Orange............. 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 4th
Midstate................... 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 3rd
Oneida..................... 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 6th
Otisville........... 15-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 3rd
Otisville.................... 20-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 5th
Otisville.................... 25-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 6th
Wallkill..................... 18-Life...................... Att M1....................... 7th
Wallkill..................... 18-Life...................... Murder 2.................. 3rd
Please excuse the appearance of this data. We don't know how to correct it.

No February/March release reports from prison are available this month.



11. PRISON MEDIA - ALL THINGS HARLEM, FANCY BROCCOLI, ON THE COUNT, SOUL SPECTRUM, AS WELL AS PRINT AND THEATER

ALL THINGS HARLEM - All Things Harlem Update brings you  relevant and timely news and information:
You can view our weekly MNN channel 34 program on Thursday's, Live at 5pm Eastern time, ANY WHERE IN THE COUNTRY, by going to our website www.allthingsharlem.com and clicking on "Watch our TV show Live" in the right hand column of the website under Editorials.

Let us know what you like and don't like, we take your COMMENTS seriously...

FANCY BROCCOLI RADIO SHOW, WVKR 91.3 FM - Sundays - Jazz & Prison Talk, 3:00-6:00 pm
Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY 12604-0726
Fancy Broccoli streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives to find lots of other good interviews.

ON THE COUNT, WBAI, 99.5FM. - Criminal Justice & Prison Report, a radio program produced by formerly incarcerated people. Airs Saturdays 10:30am-noon. To listen live on your computer, visit www.wbai.org. To listen later, visit their archives.

SOUL SPECTRUM WITH LIBERTY GREEN, WJFF Radio Catskill 90.5FM - Thursday evenings from 10pm to 1:30am. PO Box 546, Jeffersonville, NY 12748 Voice Box Call-in Comment Line: 845 431 6500 To listen on your computer, live, click here: www.wjffradio.org; or here to send an email

PRINT:
The DEUCE CLUB is published by Coalition For Parole Restoration, PO Box 1379, New York, NY 10013
CURE-NY - Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants has a NEWSLETTER. Box 102, Katonah, New York, 10536.
Prisoner Legal Services puts out PRO SE. To subscribe, send a subscription request to Pro Se, 114 Prospect St., Ithaca NY 14850

THEATER:
"25-LIFE", ENCORE PERFORMANCE APRIL 16, 2010, 8 PM THE EGG, ALBANY NY
Too Deep Entertainment presents a theatrical depiction of the lives of 25-year olds discovering that every decision counts because society shows no compassion for the dangerous obstacles and difficult struggles they combat everyday.
Tickets: $17 or contact PAN at 518 253 7533 for a group rate.



12. PRISONERS OF THE CENSUS: COUNTING 44,000 MOSTLY BLACK AND LATINO RESIDENTS OF NEW YORK CITY AS RESIDENTS OF UPSTATE PRISON TOWNS HAS HAD A STAGGERING IMPACT ON DEMOCRACY IN NEW YORK, AT BOTH THE STATE, AND COUNTY LEVELS.

Most of the state’s prisoners (66%) are New York City residents, but the vast majority of them (91%) are counted as residents of upstate prisons. This miscount of incarcerated people misrepresents New York State’s demographic makeup and skews its system of legislative representation. It is too late for the Census Bureau to change where it counts people in prison, but a growing campaign seeks to eliminate prison-based gerrymandering by changing how the state and counties use the Census data.

In New York State one out of every three people who moved to upstate New York in the 1990s actually “moved” into a newly constructed prison. The State bars people in prison from voting, but their presence in the Census boosts the population of the upstate districts whose legislators favor prison expansion. Without using prison populations as padding, seven state senate districts would have to be redrawn, causing line changes throughout the state.

The problem is even more serious in county government, where large prisons can dominate the comparatively small populations of county legislative and supervisory districts. For example, apportioning government on the basis of Census Bureau prison counts gives the Chair of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors more than twice as much political clout as the population of his town is entitled.

Pending census legislation
There are identical bills pending in both chambers to collect the home addresses of incarcerated people, and to require the state and county governments to draw legislature districts on the basis of Census Bureau data corrected to count incarcerated people at their home addresses.
An Act to amend the election law, which requires that redistricting be based on corrected census data that counts incarcerated people at their address of residence.
• Senate Bill S6725, introduced by N Y State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman and Senators Breslin, Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Krueger, Montgomery, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Parker, Sampson, Savino, Serrano, Stavisky and Thompson
• Assembly Bill A9834, a same as bill introduced by N Y State Assemblymember Jeffries, and co-sponsored by Assemblymembers Espaillat, Dinowitz, Arroyo, Rivera P, Heastie, Lavine, Benjamin, Kavanagh, Kellner, Boyland, Clark, Crespo, Glick, Hooper, Latimer, Peoples-Stokes, Perry, Rosenthal, Stirpe, and Towns.

New York area leaders
It’s impossible to include everyone who is working toward fair districting in New York, but if you are looking to get involved, these are some of the people and organizations you might want to contact:
• State Senator Eric Schneiderman, sponsor of S6725
• Jeremy Saunders and Sean Barry at New York City Aids Housing Network 80A Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn , NY 11217, Toll Free # is 877-615-2217, or 718-802-9540. Visit their website: www.nycahn.org
• Steve Carbo, Senior Program Director in the Democracy Program at Demos: 220 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10001 scarbo@demos.org and www.demos.org
• Cleo Oliver at Public Policy and Education Fund of New York www.ppefny
• Monifa Bandele at the Praxis Project
• Erika Wood at the Brennan Center for Justice www.brennancenter.org

www.prisonersofthecensus.org/factsheets



13. TELEPHONE JUSTICE; NEW COMPANY IS TAKING OVER, AND IT DOES OFFER SAVINGS, THOUGH NOT CONVENIENCE.

The other day we received a message from "VAC", saying to call 1-800-786-8521 to set up an account. I called the number and learned that:
1. a pre payment of at least $25 must be made
2. we must keep track of how much we are using because they will not send a bill, and if we go over, the line will be blocked and it will cost extra money to be reconnected
3. if we use a credit or debit card a $7.97 service charge will be deducted from our balance for each transaction, ie: every time we add more money.
4. we can avoid the service charge if we pay by money order or certified check, both of which charge a fee and take longer to process
5. if our account is inactive for 180 days (6 months), a $4.95 monthly inactivity fee will be charged until the funds have been exhausted or the call activity resumes.    
6. if we want to close our account they will charge a $4.95 refund fee to cover our
administrative charges. If the account has never been used (i.e. no calls ever received) and
closed within 90 days, VAC will waive the administrative charge and issue a full refund.

You may make a payment over the phone by calling 1 800-913-6097 or online at http://www.myvconnect.com but of course you would only be doing that if you were using a credit or debit card, and it will cost you $7.97. 

They say these are the savings:
Description Old Rate New Rate
Set-up fee per call $1.28............ $0.00
Charge per minute $.068............ $.048
Cost of a 20 minute call $2.64............ $0.96

But that's not exactly accurate. Let's say you pre-paid $25 by credit card. After the $7.95 transaction fee is deducted, you would only have $17.05 left. At $.048 a minute, that would pay for 355 minutes. Which brings your cost per minute to $.07. At that price, a 20 minute call would be $1.40, a 30 minute call, $2.10 Still it's the best deal yet. GTL was charging $3.32 for 30 minutes.


Building Bridges is the monthly newsletter of the Prison Action Network.
For information on joining, please call 518 253 7533, or send an email.

MARCH 2010

We publish late breaking announcements here. If you want to go directly to the March 2010 Building Bridges, please scroll down a bit.


POSTED MARCH 18 From the Occasional Series on Reentry Research

Friday, March 26: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

(Re)Starting and Stopping: Breaks between Criminal Activity
Vs. Permanent Cessation from Crime

Speaker: Shawn Bushway, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, SUNY Albany

Discussants will include Eric Waters, Program Director, Prison Reentry and Family Services, Osborne Association
and Joseph Shields, Executive Director, N J State Parole Board

Location: John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
899 Tenth Avenue (b/w 58th and 59th Streets), Room 630.

RSVP to Amelia Thompson (212.484.1399; amthompson@jjay.cuny.edu).




POSTED March 11 ( busy day today!!): from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Annette Dickerson, Director of Education of Outreach

Yesterday the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) celebrated a major victory when we won an injunction against Congress' unconstitutional de-funding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) for the second time. A federal judge ordered the United States and several government agencies to rescind orders cutting off funding to ACORN and its affiliates and allies.

Learn more about ACORN Vs USA

By singling out ACORN, Congress acted as judge, jury and executioner without a trial or judicial hearing. No organization should be unconstitutionally targeted by Congress. Write to your representative and ask them to uphold due process and make no further attempts to single out or prevent ACORN from providing essential services to Americans.



POSTED March 11: from Glenn Martin, Vice President, David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy (DRCPP):

Please take 2 minutes to call Governor Paterson TODAY at 518.474.8390 and say, "Since the prison population is down, please follow through with the proposal to close the four (4) upstate prisons. NYS should be investing in Alternatives to Incarceration and reentry, not prisons." In addition, please call your local Assemblyman and Senator with the same message.



POSTED March 11: by the Campaign for Parole Board Reform

This Saturday (March 13) Larry White will be sharing the mic with Eddie Ellis to talk about the Campaign for Parole Board Reform and the bill proposed by the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies. ON THE COUNT, WBAI, 99.5FM. - Criminal Justice & Prison Report, a radio program produced by formerly incarcerated people. Airs Saturday 10:30 am - Noon. To listen live on your computer, visit www.wbai.org. It's a call in show, so if you have questions you may call (212) 209-2900.


Dear Reader,

We've come a long way since the 2005 Family Empowerment Day (FED) - the brainchild of a group of men at Otisville - which took place with less than 100 family members. FED 4 in 2008 had over 400, and resulted in a powerful mandate to change the parole policies in this state, particularly regarding parole board decisions. This year the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies, an outgrowth of FED4, will bring their proposed revision of Exec. Law §259-i to the NYS Prisoner Justice Conference on March 27. It has been suggested that it be included in the Unity Statement which will be discussed and voted on at the conference. To add your voice of support for the proposed revisions, you may write the organizers at NYS Prisoner Justice Conference, 33 Central Ave, Albany NY 12210, or call 518 434 4037. Over 25 groups involved in advocacy or service activities have already registered for this conference. We don't know the outcome, but it is certain to move us a long way toward our goal of fair and just criminal justice policies and practices. Be proud of the work you’ve contributed to these efforts. Only through your hope and commitment could we have come this far.

On another note, if you have written to Building Bridges in the past month and a half, it’s likely you won't hear back from us until at least April or May. Working as part of the planning committee for the March 27 conference, along with the many other organizations, has kept us even busier than usual. However, we hope to answer as many of your concerns as possible in the pages of these monthly newsletters.
Be well, keep the faith, and share the news!


INDEX
1. Activities for advocates, statewide
2. Coalition initiates campaign for parole reform
3. ICARE on DOH oversight of DOCS HIV/AIDS treatment
4. Job opportunities
5. Know Your Rights Project for immigrant detainees
6. Legislation watch
7. Medicaid and disability program rules
8. Lifers and Longtermers Clearinghouse
9. NYS Prisoner Justice Conference
10.Parole News
11.Prison media: radio, video, print, theater
12.Transportation to prisons

[For copies of any document, article or legislation referred to in any of the above, please send an email with a request clearly stating name of the document and in which issue of Building Bridges it was mentioned.]


1. WHAT CAN YOU DO? HERE’S A LIST OF ACTIVITIES

BUFFALO:
Monday, MARCH 29, 6:30-8:30 pm Prisoners Are People Too
PRP2 programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng. For further information, contact Karima Amin: 716-834-8438; karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org.

At the next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too Melis Birder's award-winning documentary film, "The Visitors" will be screened. 

"'The Visitors' is a documentary about passengers of a charter bus that leaves New York City every weekend for various prisons located in Upstate New York. Reflecting the struggles of a unique culture, living at the intersection of confinement and the free world, the story follows the coordinator of the bus, Denise,  whose husband is coming home soon after 17 years of imprisonment."

Present with us that evening will be guest speakers who make that trip in the opposite direction, from Western NY, to visit incarcerated loved ones who are confined Downstate. Visiting a loved one in prison is a difficult thing. There are financial, physical, and emotional challenges that no one can truly understand unless he or she has had to make that journey.

Location: Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo.


CAPITAL DISTRICT:
MONDAY, MARCH 8, 7-8:30 PM PRISON FAMILIES OF NEW YORK, INC.
MONTHLY SPEAKER SERIES
Presenter: Vanda Seward, State-wide Director of Reentry, NYS Div. of Parole
Bring your questions.For information and/or confidential assistance: 518-453-6659, alison.coleman@rcda.org

Location: The Womens Building, 373 Central Avenue, Albany



 
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, ALL DAY DROP THE ROCK LOBBY DAY
YOU Can Help Reform New York’s Prison System! On this day hundreds of New Yorkers will unite in Albany to call for criminal justice reforms including prison closures, full repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, and reinvestment in our communities.

Organizations and individuals interested in participating in Advocacy Day should contact Caitlin Dunklee, Drop the Rock Coordinator at 212-254-5700 x 339 or cdunklee@correctionalassociation.org.

If you are on parole or probation, and need a letter in order to join us for Advocacy Day, please contact Caitlin.


SATURDAY MARCH 27, 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM NYS PRISON JUSTICE CONFERENCE
More than 26 organizations have already signed on to sponsor this statewide gathering of justice activist organizations and individuals. The purpose of the conference is to meet each other and learn about the unique role each plays, and the many commonalities we all share. "We are our own best resources!"
Space is limited (that's not just a way to try to get you to register - you really must register in advance.) There's a registration form and a sponsor form at www.nysprisonerjustice.org. So if your organization has not already signed up as a sponsor (which includes tabling space), please visit the website now and do so. If you're a member of an organization, whether OR NOT they're sponsoring the conference you need to register at the website as well. And if you're an activist working on your own, same thing. There's still room for you at the conference if you register now: www.nysprisonerjustice.org. Call 518 434 4037 if you don't have computer access, to register over the phone

ROOTS "RE-ENTRY RESOURCES ORIENTATIONS" FOR MEN AND WOMEN
Second and Last Thursdays from 6-8 at Christ United Methodist, 35 State Street, at 4th Avenue, Troy, NY 12180.
3rd Thursdays from 6-8 at Trinity Institution, 15 Trinity Place, Albany NY 12202
Call ROOTS at 518 434 1026 for more details.


NYC:
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, ALL DAY DROP THE ROCK LOBBY DAY
Get on the bus! Buses to Albany are leaving from throughout NYC. YOU Can Help Reform New York’s Prison System! On this day hundreds of New Yorkers will unite in Albany to call for criminal justice reforms including prison closures, full repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, and reinvestment in our communities.
Organizations and individuals interested in participating in Advocacy Day should contact Caitlin Dunklee, Drop the Rock Coordinator at 212-254-5700 x 339 or cdunklee@correctionalassociation.org.
If you are on parole or probation, and need a letter in order to join us for Advocacy Day, please contact Caitlin.


MANHATTAN:
FRIDAY, MARCH 5 AT 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM THE ADDICTION INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK
Addiction 2010: Criminal Justice and Addiction Treatment: Beyond the Rockefeller Era: Focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by the reforms of the Rockefeller Drug Laws and policies that treat substance abuse and dependence as a public health problem instead of a criminal justice issue. The event will feature Gabriel Sayegh, Director of the State Organizing and Policy Project at the Drug Policy Alliance, and will include various workshops discussing treatment, life skills, family and advocacy in post-Rockefeller Era. For more info: www.addictioninstituteNY.org
Location: St Lukes Hospital, Muhlenberg 4 Auditorium, 421 W. 113th St. NY NY 10025

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3RD, FROM 3:30 - 6:30 PM THE WOMEN IN PRISON PROJECT
ReConnect Leadership and Training Program
Beginning class of 12-week course for women who are transitioning home from prison, jail or an alternative to incarceration and would like to become strong advocates to change the criminal justice system. Continues every week at the same time, for 12 weeks. For more information please contact Andrea Williams, ReConnect Program Director at: awilliams@correctionalassociation.org or 212-254-5700 x 311.

TUESDAY MARCH 16TH 6:30 - 8:30 PM JUSTICEWORKS
Celebrates their history of accomplishments with Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the U.S.,
a traveling public art exhibition that aligns perfectly with the mission of JusticeWorks. Incarcerated mothers and their children, as well as professional artists, have created the artwork. Rickie Solinger, the curator of the exhibit, will make a brief presentation at the event. Justice Works has made the painful decision to close their doors after 18 years. This closing event will also honor a formerly incarcerated woman who has continued to advocate for women involved in the criminal justice system. For more information, call 718.499.6704, ext. 203

Location: NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South, Manhattan 10012


WEDNESDAY MARCH 31, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM PRISONER REENTRY INSTITUTE AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
On The Front Lines: Building Skills for Reentry and Diversion
The New York City Departments of Correction, Health and Mental Hygiene, and Homeless Services and the Human Resources Administration invite you to On the Front Lines: Building Skills for Reentry and Diversion-a free one-day training institute designed for discharge planners and other professionals working with currently and formerly incarcerated people. The goal of the institute is to impart practical skills to training participants that they can immediately put to use in improving outcomes for those they are working with. The Institute will provide participants with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge related to reentry, diversion, and service delivery through highly interactive workshops. There will be a networking lunch and participants will be able to participate in one workshop in the morning and one in the afternoon. For more info visit www.eventbrite.com.

Location: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 445 W. 59th St, 2nd Floor, Manh



2. COALITION FOR FAIR CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICIES PRESSES FOR SPONSORSHIP OF THEIR PROPOSED REVISIONS TO EXEC. LAW §259-i.

We are actively pursuing legislative sponsorship of our proposed revisions to Exec. Law §259-i. §259-i is the number of the the parole statute which describes the ways the NYS Board of Parole must operate. This work is a beginning step toward our larger purpose, which is to move the NYS criminal justice system as a whole toward a Reintegrative Model. This model engages a person, from the time of their arrest until their reintegration, in the development of a reintegration document which would identify the contributing factors leading up to the arrest, and the strengths and assets they might use, if so motivated, to return quickly to life as a productive citizen. It could be used to inform the bail hearing, the indictment, the attorneys, and the judge who would be guided by it in designing a sentence that provided specific recommendations for this particular person to prepare him or her for reintegration. And if the sentence included incarceration the document would continue to be revised as the person moved through the system, and when they completed the conditions of the sentence they would be released. Our revisions to Exec Law §259-i would enable people who have met specific criteria to be released. In that way, it conforms to this overall reintegrative model as best it can without the rest of the model in place. (In the case of an indeterminate sentence, the release would be to parole supervision and the conditions of parole would again be based on the reintegration document.)



3. ICARE COMMUNITY EDUCATOR JAFAR ABBAS WRITES ABOUT ADVOCATING FOR FUNDING FOR THE NEWLY LEGISLATED OVERSIGHT OF DOCS HIV/AIDS SERVICES BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

At the end of 2006 the New York State Department of Correctional Services was estimated to be housing 4,000 HIV infected inmates and 8,400 inmates with the Hepatitis C virus. Of all prisoners living with HIV/AIDS in the United States 90% of them are Black and Latino and will return to the communities they left in need of treatment, support and prevention awareness education.

The New York AIDS Coalition and the HIV/AIDS organizations working with and under them were quite happy when Governor Patterson signed into law (despite the opposition) Subdivision 26, Section 206(1) of the Public Health Law. This law gives oversight powers to the Department of Health to review policies, practices and medical treatment of those inmates in the Department of Correctional Services with HIV/AIDS and HCV.

The signing of this Bill into law has set an historical precedent, in that, for the first time in DOCS history the medical care it provides inmates will be reviewed by an outside organization for the purpose of making sure, “current, generally accepted medical standards and procedures in the community” are being followed.

Over the past three years HIV/AIDS services have been cut five times, making the shoe string budget they operate on even thinner. This new law is faced with funding problems making it difficult to follow through with the meaningful steps needed. Therefore, to commemorate AIDS Awareness Day the New York AIDS Coalition organized HIV/AIDS service organizations from Buffalo to Long Island to meet in Albany so together we can report to legislators the problems we face in fighting this disease and the help we need from them.

I along with several men and women met each Saturday at the Osborne Association in Brooklyn to organize issues facing incarcerated people living with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. Our focus was to organize the issues into talking points which we would then present to the legislators. We focused on facility health care, transitional housing for Hepatitis C prisoners being released, the need for more specialized doctors, waiving fees for copies of medical records upon release, ADAP, Medicaid, confidentiality, and funding of the new oversight law.

February 23rd was a rainy morning; nevertheless eight men, six of whom were formerly incarcerated, met in the Bronx, New York and piled into two Osborne Association vehicles to begin a three hours drive to Albany. When we reached Albany the blizzard was just starting and the huge Education Hall had only a few people in it. It was not long before the room was filled with advocates from all over New York. One by one lawmakers, organizers and common people stepped behind the podium and spoke. Two African-American women were called up together to share parts of their stories. They walked to the podium holding hands then spoke with such passion and confidence that the crowd clapped and cried. One of the women had contracted the virus when she was raped. She spoke of her fears, her hurt and her forgiveness, “I don’t hate the person that gave me this disease,” she said. Her message was one of hope. The other sisters sought to drive home the point that we should start educating our children about this disease and ways to protect themselves. Her answer to the question she posed was, “When they can walk, we should talk.” She said we need to replace the candy bowls in our homes with condom bowls. This got a big round of applause.

I had never been to Albany to lobby for anything before so I was learning as I went along, trying to take in everything that was happening around me. The leader of our group came in and said, “Let’s go.” It was time for our first meeting so we quickly went over our talking points and headed to the elevator to meet Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry.

My group was to speak with four Assembly Members but only two were in their offices, Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry and Assemblywoman Annette Robinson. Both were very receptive to what was being expressed and responded sincerely to each speaker on each issue. After I told Assemblywoman Annette Robinson my story and how meaningful it was for me to be sitting there representing incarcerated men and women, she took my hand, looked me in the eyes, and asked, “How are you doing?” I could hear in her question that she was honored that I shared my story with her and proud of the changes I had made in my life.

I had been sitting face-to-face with legislators, speaking up and out for incarcerated people, and they had listened. That’s where my thoughts were as we drove back in the thick of the blizzard.

Jafar Abbas




4. JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN BEDFORD-STUYVESANT AND THE BRONX AND A NATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICES JOBS WEBSITE WHICH MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO THOSE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES

**ENROLLMENT PROJECT COORDINATOR AT THE WOMEN’S HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (WHEDCO) IN THE BRONX.
Serves families who struggle with the multiple challenges presented by poverty, and who, like all of us, aspire to a healthy, financially stable future. JOB SUMMARY: Under the supervision of the Director of Home-based Child Care Services the Enrollment Project Coordinator will coordinate and supervise the daily operations of the enrollment process of all legally-exempt child care providers in New York City. Candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Early Childhood Development, Education, Social Services or related field. For more information: info@whedco.org. Please type in the subject “Enrollment Project Coordinator Position”

**NYC JUSTICE CORPS BROOKLYN SITE PROGRAM MANAGER
The reentry program provides paid workforce development and service-learning opportunities to formerly incarcerated youth living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. Visit the Justice Corps at www.nycjusticecorps.org/ to find out more about this exciting initiative and read the attached job description. Please direct all questions to Judith Anglin, Human Resource Director, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Email: info@whedco.org.

**PAID ORGANIZER TRAINING PROGRAM
Community Voices Heard (CVH) is seeking individuals interested in working for a successful New York grassroots economic justice organization.
Trainees learn the craft of organizing through taking on real responsibilities to help advance an actual campaign. This cycle of trainees will be integrated into CVH's successful Public Housing Preservation & Improvement Campaign and will focus their outreach efforts in public housing developments around the five boroughs of NYC. Trainees will be trained and mentored by a combination of CVH staff with overall supervision coming from the Public Housing Campaign Director. The program will include on-the-job training and field practice in the basics of community organizing (and more!)
The program is four months initially with a possibility of an extension. An average day starts at 11AM and ends at 9PM. Some weekend work is also required - occasional Saturdays and Sunday evenings.
To Apply: Please send or drop off resume and cover letter (including a statement of why you are interested in the program and why you believe you are a good candidate for it) to Mo George, Public Housing Campaign, cvh@cvhaction.org. If emailing, make sure to put "Organizer Training Program" in the subject line. If you have any questions please contact Mo George at (212) 860-6001 ext 27.


A NATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICES JOBS WEBSITE - To look at job opportunities, click on the Job Search tab at the top of the screen:www.socialservice.com.



5. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS PROJECT: AN INNOVATIVE PRO BONO RESPONSE TO THE LACK OF COUNSEL FOR INDIGENT IMMIGRANT DETAINEES

This report by City Bar Justice Center's NYC Know Your Rights Project is based on data on 158 detainees counseled at Varick by pro bono volunteers between December 2008 and July 2009. The study finds that over one-third of immigrant detainees at the Varick Federal Detention Facility in New York City had reasonable claims for relief from removal. It also notes that of those who were granted bond, over 90% are unable to pay due to the high cost, and end up staying in detention. Citing the high financial and moral costs of maintaining the current detention system for immigrants, this report recommends that legal counsel be provided for all detained immigrants who cannot afford private counsel. [To request the full report, please send us an email request clearly stating name of the document and in which issue of Building Bridges it was mentioned.]



6. LEGISLATION WATCH: THE JOURNEY OF PROPOSED BILL TO AMEND §259-i; TRACKING OF BILLS

On the Path to Becoming a Law
Last month we published changes to Exec Law 259-i that are proposed by the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies. Some of our mail indicates that people misunderstood this to mean it already was a bill, and even that it had been passed into law. One reader said he demanded to have his hearing videotaped, based upon it. We apologize for not being clearer. The following is an attempt to avoid future confusion:

Part One: Where Our Proposal Is Now
The proposal for changes to Exec. Law 259-i - the statute which sets how the NYS Board of Parole functions - started with a group of citizens seeing the need for change and putting the changes into writing. We published that proposal last month. Those changes were put into bill form as is required before it can be considered by the Legislature. No law may be enacted in New York State unless it has been adopted by the Legislature in bill form.

To be adopted, the bill must first be introduced. Bills can be introduced only by legislators or by standing committees of the Senate and Assembly. [The one exception is the Executive Budget, which is submitted directly by the Governor.]

So the next step for the proposal being put forth by the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies is to find a legislator or a legislative committee to introduce (sponsor) it. Members of the Coalition's Policy Committee are currently engaged in finding a sponsor.

Part Two: What Happens Next
After it's introduced, the bill goes to the Introduction and Revision Office, where it's examined and corrected, given a number, sent to the appropriate standing committee, entered into the Legislature’s computer, deemed to have had its first and second readings and printed.
The Legislature engages specialists to study proposed legislation. These specialists are members of Standing Committees who evaluate bills and decide whether to "report" them (send them) to the floor for a final decision by the full membership. Committees often hold public hearings on bills to gather the widest possible range of opinion before they vote.

Note: At this stage it's still just a proposed law or amendment to an existing law. We'll discuss Part Three of the process when we get closer to it.


TRACKING BILLS:
A.5462-A/S.2233-A aims to enhance permanency for children in foster care by granting foster care agencies the discretion to delay, if necessary, filing papers to terminate parental rights when a parent is incarcerated or when the parent’s past incarceration is a significant factor in why the child remains in foster care.
History: passed Assembly, delivered to Senate, referred to Finance.

S4365-A: Right to a copy of pre-sentence reports
Sponsor: HASSELL-THOMPSON   Same as A 3492-A  Aubry (MS) 
History: Committed to Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction , committed to the Committee on Finance, bill was amended, recommitted to Crime Victims..., delivered to Codes, delivered to Finance.

S1633: Amends the election law, in relation to the residential classification of certain incarcerated persons
Sponsor: SCHNEIDERMAN Same as A5946 Aubrey (MS)       
History: Hasn’t moved from Committee on Elections


ARTICLE 78 DECISION:
Finds DoE Denial of School Aid Application Based on Single Felony Conviction Arbitrary and Capricious: Petitioner's application to be a school aide in a New York City Public School was rejected by the DoE based on an 18 year old felony conviction, even with a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities. The Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled that the DoE denied the petitioner in an arbitrary and capricious fashion, and remanded the case to the DoE for a new decision that articulates its consideration of the eight factors that can legally be used to deny someone with a criminal record employment.



7. FEDERAL MEDICAID AND DISABILITY PROGRAM RULES

This overview of Medicaid and SSI/SSDI programs includes discussion of why individuals with mental illness may lose their benefits when they are incarcerated and what steps can be taken to ensure that those benefits are reinstated upon release. [To request a copy, please send an email with a request clearly stating name of the document and in which issue of Building Bridges it was mentioned.]



8. LIFERS AND LONGTERMERS CLEARINGHOUSE. THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN ACTIVELY PURSUING LEGISLATION BENEFICIAL FOR THOSE THEY PARTNER WITH IN PRISON

What is the role of the incarcerated in the campaign to revise parole statute, Exec law §259-i?  Historically, the origins of the campaign began when an inmate organization at a state correctional facility partnered with a community-based criminal justice advocacy organization (Prison Action Network) to organize the families, loved-ones and supporters of incarcerated individuals around the issue of parole.

That joint organizing effort gave birth to the Family Empowerment Day Events, a series of annual gatherings of families, loved-ones and organized supporters to address the dominant issues affecting those people incarcerated in state correctional facilities.

At the last Family Empowerment Day event held at Columbia University in 2008, the theme was Discretionary Release on Parole, and the keynote speaker was the Chairman of the NYS Division of Parole and Chair of the State Parole Board. Over 400 hundred people attended the event and great contention arose over dissatisfaction with what some felt was a failure of the Chairman of the State Division of Parole to adequately address prevalent unjust parole board discretionary release decisions.

A rift developed and a large segment of the families, loved-ones and supporters left the event deeply disenchanted with the administration of the State Division of Parole. The remaining body of families, loved-ones and supporters went on to form the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice, an organization dedicated to the development of legislation designed to address unjust and unfair sentencing, correctional and parole law, policies, and procedures.  

The Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies (The Coalition) created a Parole Policy Committee charged with the responsibility of developing legislation that would address not only discretionary parole release, but the overall function of parole as a component in the state sentencing scheme.

The resulting proposed legislation written by the Parole Policy Committee is designed to bring Executive Law §259-i Discretionary Parole Release into compliance with Penal Law §1.05 State Sentencing Goals (see Justification Statement, Building Bridges, Jan 2010, Article 5) .

Now that we finally have parole legislation that we can rally behind, we must embark on a campaign to generate support for its enactment into law.  Building legislative support requires assigned roles and strategic planning.  It also requires expanded membership in the sponsoring organization: The Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies.

Because The Coalition started with less then half of the original families, loved-ones and supporters who attended the last Family Empowerment Day in 2008, we must now bring back the defectors to support the parole legislation that addresses their specific grievances.  That is the role incarcerated individuals and organizations must play in our current campaign to develop support for parole legislation.

Each incarcerated individual should involve him/her self with the efforts of the lifer organization at their facility to contact families, loved-ones and supporters and urge them to join the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies.

Incarcerated individuals and prison organizations have direct contact with criminal justice service provider organizations like Network, the Osborne Association, AVP, the Fortune Society, as well as faith communities such as Quakers, Riverside Church Prison Ministry, etc.  These and other outside organized providers of prison programs should be active advocates of our parole legislation because it requires the parole board to recognize and give weight to the rehabilitative efforts of parole candidates who complete or participate in their programs. These service organizations must be made aware of their responsibility to champion the parole efforts of those who participate in their programs.

The families, loved-ones and supporters should be encouraged to contact Building Bridges at 518 253 7533, or send them an email, for information on joining the efforts of the Coalition for Fair Criminal Justice Policies to enact parole legislation.

Larry Luqman White



9. THE NEW YORK STATE PRISONER JUSTICE CONFERENCE: CONNECTING REGIONS, ISSUES, AND STRATEGIES. PRISON ACTION NETWORK WILL BE REPRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE AS WE CONTINUE THE WORK BEGUN AT FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4

PAN is participating in the March 27 conference to form alliances with other groups around the state, so that we can support more than just our own narrow piece of the immense reform necessary in the criminal justice arena; things such as alternatives to incarceration, education, housing, jobs, crisis in the juvenile justice system, impact of the criminal justice system on youth, school to prison pipeline prevention, medical care, medical parole, merit time, prison abuse, prison conditions, prison organizations, programs, public defense, racial disparities, reentry preparation, rehabilitation, restorative justice, Rockefeller drug law reforms/repeal, sentencing, sexual abuse, shu/box/solitary, systemic barriers to reintegration, voting/census/gerrymandering, work release.

And of course we will be asking for support for the bill proposed by the Coalition For Fair Criminal Justice Policies, in response to the mandate of participants at FED4 in 2008. So for you who've been asking "when's the next Family Empowerment Day?", well we think this is the most effective way of moving your agenda forward. We'll think about FED5 after it's over, and you will all be part of the planning.



10. PAROLE NEWS: TWO CORRECTIONS; PAROLE HANDBOOK ON RELEASE DECISION GUIDELINES; PAROLE STATISTICS

CORRECTIONS:
Michael A. Hagler was mistakenly left off the list of Parole Commissioners listed in last month's issue. He was appointed by Gov Spitzer in Oct of 2007 to a term that expires in Aug 2013. Thank you to the reader who pointed that out.

December’s report from Woodbourne listed the wrong commissioners for their December Boards. The correct names are Clarke, Lemons, and Crangle.

FROM THE PAROLE HANDBOOK, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN REVISED SINCE 2007, SO ALWAYS CHECK WITH A FACILITY PAROLE OFFICER IF YOU NOTICE ANY INCONSISTENCIES. CONTACT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET: https://parole.state.ny.us.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PAROLE RELEASE DECISION-MAKING GUIDELINES?
The Board of Parole has adopted a set of guidelines to structure its discretion with regard to release decisions. Parole Guidelines consist of ranges of time served by individuals with similar conviction offenses and similar past criminal histories. The determination of an inmate’s guideline range of time to be served is made on the basis of an offense severity score and a prior criminal history score.

WHERE CAN I FIND A COMPLETE EXPLANATION OF THE PAROLE GUIDELINES?
If you would like more detailed information concerning Parole Guidelines, you can contact the facility Parole Officer. Additionally, each law library at State correctional facilities is provided with a copy of the Division of Parole’s Release Decision-Making Guidelines Application Manual, which you can use as a reference. Prior to your Parole Board interview, you will be interviewed by a facility Parole Officer. At that time, you should ask any questions you have about the Guidelines and how they are being applied in your case.

DO VICTIMS HAVE ANY INPUT INTO THE PAROLE BOARD’S DECISION?
Yes. It has always been the policy of the Parole Board to consider any statement made by a victim or representative as part of the parole release decision-making process. In fact, legislation adopted in 1985 mandated that victim impact statements be considered by the Board.
Victims and/or survivors of certain violent crimes may make requests in accordance with the Board of Parole procedures for the purpose of personally submitting their victim impact statements to a member of the Parole Board. The personal meeting provides a setting that permits confidentiality in a suitable atmosphere. A transcript of this meeting is then provided to the panel making the Parole decision.
In lieu of meeting with a Parole Board member, victims are also allowed to submit their sentiments regarding the release of an inmate by written statement, audiotape or videotape. Any and all information submitted or provided by a victim is always afforded the utmost confidentiality.

WHEN AND HOW DOES THE PAROLE BOARD INFORM ME OF ITS INTERVIEW DECISION?
As a general rule, you are informed by written notice of the Board decision within a few days of the completion of Board interviews. The Parole Board Release Decision form is used to transmit reasons for a denial as well as a release decision. If you are denied release, the form will note detailed reasons. On a release decision, the Board may note special conditions of release.

IF THE BOARD OF PAROLE APPROVES MY RELEASE, WHAT HAPPENS?
If granted release, you will receive an “open date,” and be placed in community preparation status. If you appeared before the Parole Board for your reappearance interview after having been denied at a prior interview, you may be given a “straight” parole date which is a specific release date. An approved residence and employment program are required prior to the Parole Board interview in order to receive a “straight” parole date.


JANUARY 2010 PAROLE BOARD RELEASES – A1 VIOLENT FELONS - DINS THROUGH 1999 - UNOFFICIAL RESEARCH FROM PAROLE DATABASE

Total Interviews......... # Released...... # Denied....... Rate of Release
21 initials.................... ....1................ .....20......................... 5%
103 reappearances....... ....15............... .....88......................... 16%
124 total...................... ...16............... ....108........................ 13%

Initial Release
Facility...................... Sentence......... Offense
Arthur Kill................. 20-Life........... Murder 2

Reappearances
Facility....................... Sentence........ Offense .......# of Board
Arthurkill................... 15-Life...........Murder 2...... 8th
Arthurkill................... 25-Life.......... Murder 2...... 2nd
Arthurkill................... 15-Life.......... Murder 2...... 4th
Arthurkill................... 18-Life.......... Murder 2...... 2nd
Arthurkill................... 15-Life.......... Murder 2...... 8th
Clinton....................... 15-Life.......... Murder 2...... 6th
Fishkill....................... 15-Life.......... Murder 2...... 3rd
Fishkill....................... 25-Life.......... Murder 2...... 3rd
Gouverneur................ 20-Life.......... Murder 2...... 11th
Greenhaven................ 25-Life.......... Murder 2...... 3rd ***
Marcy......................... 25-Life.......... Murder 2...... 2nd
Washington................ 18-Life.......... Murder 2.......2nd
Wende........................ 15-Life.......... Murder 2.......9th
Woodbourne ............. 15-Life.......... Murder 2.......3rd
Woodbourne ............ 15-Life.......... Murder 2.......8th
***special consideration hearing


JANUARY/FEBRUARY RELEASE REPORTS FROM PRISON: (Please note that the following statistics are not limited to people convicted of A1 Violent felonies - but they all are people with indeterminate sentences)

MID-ORANGE
Feb - Grant and Ross
Appearances: 23
Releases: 14 (at least 5 A1VO)

WOODBOURNE
Jan - Grant and Ross
Appearances:......... 22 (4 A1VO)
Releases:............... 9 (2 A1VO, 3rd board)



11. PRISON MEDIA - ALL THINGS HARLEM, FANCY BROCCOLI, ON THE COUNT, SOUL SPECTRUM, AS WELL AS PRINT AND THEATER

ALL THINGS HARLEM - www.allthingsharlem.com  All Things Harlem brings you a weekly MNN channel 34 program live at 5pm Eastern time, ANY WHERE IN THE COUNTRY, by going to our website and clicking on "Watch our TV show Live" in the right hand column of the website under Editorials.
Among the topics available at: www.allthingsharlemproductions.blogspot.com are the following:
Enrollment of black students in prestigious city schools, Manhattan DA investigating Bloomberg, Father-Son basketball coaches in Harlem teach kids, First African-American diving champion makes history, Op Ed: Blacks In Retreat, NYPD detective faces probe "Cop didn't care thug bashed me", New York's poor get the short end on the gavel.

Paid Media internships for high school seniors: Contact: info@allthingsharlem.com. 


FANCY BROCCOLI RADIO SHOW, WVKR 91.3 FM - Sundays - Jazz & Prison Talk, 3:00-6:00 pm
Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY 12604-0726
Fancy Broccoli streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives to find lots of other good interviews.

ON THE COUNT, WBAI, 99.5FM. - Criminal Justice & Prison Report, a radio program produced by formerly incarcerated people. Airs Saturdays 10:30am-noon. To listen live on your computer, visit www.wbai.org. To listen later, visit their archives.

SOUL SPECTRUM WITH LIBERTY GREEN, WJFF Radio Catskill 90.5FM - Thursday evenings from 10pm to 1:30am. PO Box 546, Jeffersonville, NY 12748 Voice Box Call-in Comment Line: 845 431 6500 To listen on your computer, live, click here: www.wjffradio.org. Send an email.

PRINT:
The DEUCE CLUB is published by Coalition For Parole Restoration, PO Box 1379, New York, NY 10013
CURE-NY - Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants has a NEWSLETTER. Box 102, Katonah, New York, 10536.
Prisoner Legal Services puts out PRO SE. To subscribe, send a subscription request to Pro Se, 114 Prospect St., Ithaca NY 14850

THEATER:
A Rising Director’s Medium-Security Side Project; Excerpts from an article By KATE TAYLOR published in the NY Times on February 9, 2010 [To request a copy, please send an email with a request clearly stating name of the document and in which issue of Building Bridges it was mentioned.]

The article describes a theater production directed by well known artistic director, Arin Arbus, the associate artistic director of Theater for a New Audience. When Ms. Arbus is not in rehearsal for a Theater for a New Audience show, most Saturdays and some evenings find her driving 100 miles north of New York to the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, a medium-security men’s prison where she directs inmates as part of a program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts. She has overseen an adaptation of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and, more recently, an original play that the men wrote about the difficulty of maintaining relationships with their families from prison. Rehabilitation Through the Arts hopes to turn that play about family relationships, called “Starting Over,” into an educational movie for prisoners.

One scene shows an incarcerated person getting ready to go “on a trailer,” a semiannual visit that allows the person to spend roughly 72 hours with his/her family privately in a trailer on prison property. After a first run-through Ms. Arbus started working on the emotions of the scene. “How does a person feel when they’re about to go on a trailer?” she asked. “Nervous!” one man shouted. “Excited!” said another. “In love!” After more discussion Ms. Arbus told them to do the scene again and offered one final note. “Do it better. How’s that?” she said cheerfully. (And they did.)



11. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS: CAPITAL DISTRICT CONGREGATION OFFERS FREE DOOR TO DOOR CAR SERVICE.

Free door to door rides from the Capital District: The Justice Committee at the Unitarian Society now has 6 volunteer drivers. If you have a loved one in prison and you have no other way of getting there, call us at 518 253 7533. Our drivers are ready to take you to prisons within 150-200 miles of Albany to visit your loved one, but you need to call well in advance to assure their availability.




Building Bridges is the monthly newsletter of the Prison Action Network.
For information on joining, please call 518 253 7533, or send an email to PrisonActionNetwork@gmail.com.


We try not to make mistakes, but if you think we have, please let us know. It’s never intentional.
We want to be accurate reporters.