Hope
Hope is a powerful word.
It can get anyone through a hard time.
If you are lucky enough to get up for another day, you must have hope to guide you through the day. (more…)
Remembering Henry
On the morning of January 1, 2023, Henry Butson passed away in Springfield, Vermont, making him the state’s first incarcerated person to die this year. Henry was 74 years old. He had been incarcerated for 20 years. He would have been eligible for parole in 2028.
I met Henry several times while visiting my husband at Southern State Correctional Facility. Henry would occasionally get visits from his daughter, and sometimes grandchildren were present. He had a hello and a small joke for us as he passed us on his way to his seat. He always seemed in a cheerful mood, although that could have been, in part, the anticipation of visiting with his family. (more…)
A Christmas Eve Visit
The wind is brutal, the temps are hovering around 10 degrees as I cross the parking lot to SSCF.. There are more visitors in the lobby than usual, but not surprising, since it’s Christmas Eve. We wait for the the CO to show up, then take off our shoes to walk through the metal detector. Some COs will actually check the inside of the shoes for contraband, but today’s guy doesn’t.. One woman in leggings is told she couldn’t visit because leggings were on the NOT ALLOWED list. Since I am heading to my sister’s home in New Hampshire after the visit, I have a dress in my car. I head out into the frigid air to fetch it for her, and she’s able to slip it over her clothing. (more…)
Who’s Listening?
A million different crimes could send you to prison. Depending on who you ask, the length of that time will either be too short or too long. Teaching the offender a lesson in order to correct their behavior — it’s right there in the name, Vermont Department of Corrections. Punishment and correction, these dual missions drive the juggernaut of law enforcement and our state court system. The actual success of these systems — it depends on who’s asking and who answers. Is the crime rate up or down? Do you feel safe? Are the sentences too lenient? Is enough being done for the victims of crime?
I would argue that treating people in prison as irredeemable, with no value now or ever, is a mistake. I further argue that that incarceration alone, without added intensification by prison policies or staff, is punishment enough. We know we are guilty, and every second inside these walls reinforces that. Imagine locking yourself in your bathroom with a total stranger, and sleeping within five feet of the toilet. Covid restrictions might keep you there for 23 and 3/4 hours a day. This over-pressurized living takes its toll on incarcerated people, staff, family, and friends. It’s no secret: jail life breaks people down. Incarcerated people’s reaction to stress may range from total withdrawal to targeted violence. (more…)
Giving Tuesday
Allies Line is a nonprofit project dedicated to providing direct support to people in correctional facilities in Vermont.
Clients are referred to Allies Line by residents who have worked with our projects previously. Besides being a place to call when a loved one has been sent to a correctional facility, services also include mentoring, emotional support, letter writing, book purchase, and re-entry support. We’ve picked folks up when release dates come, driven them to probation meetings, supported driving license reinstatement and helped with car repairs. We have advocated for programming, sentence computation corrections and housing placement.
Mostly we listen. By phone, messages, letters and visits. We offer a compassionate ear and empathy on some of the most difficult days our fellow citizens encounter. Work is 100% volunteer and donations cover the costs of communications, educational materials and food donations. Initiatives include partnerships with: Human Kindness Foundation, offering free books by request; Prison Yoga Project, certifying teachers for mediation and yoga; and Vermont Just Justice, providing regular blog posts on our justice system
Allies Line is a 501(c)3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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What is a trauma-informed prison?
Trauma-informed care works with the changing of mindset and questions. Instead of asking those in our care, in our class, in our police cruiser, in our prisons or schools “what is wrong with you?” we instead ask “what happened to you?” Imagine if this was part of the training our correctional staff received. How would it change the atmosphere currently circulating in our Vermont facilities? How could it improve the chances that folks would get out and stay out if they were seen in this light?
The Compassion Prison Project uses this approach in their workshops inside some of the nation’s largest, toughest facilities. They facilitate circles where adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are named, and given the compassion and understanding needed to move forward with healing and self respect. This project is just one example where trauma-informed care and mindset changes the atmosphere and the opportunities for understanding. Most importantly, it addresses some of the underlying reasons why folks who are incarcerated are depressed, angry, and unable to begin the process of healing. (more…)
What can you buy with your prison paycheck?
Two of our October posts were concerning working in prison, and the pay that an incarcerated individual receives. What can people inside do with the money they earn? That is, besides save it for when they’re released, if they are able.
As an incarcerated person, the state provides you with three meals a day. You might feel that you need to supplement those meals. You might feel, like those of us on the outside do, that you’d like to treat yourself. That is where your pay, which is kept for you in a “bank account,” comes in. Let’s imagine that you earn $7 a week. In the commissary, you could purchase a single 5-oz Reese’s cup for $5.50. Or you could get two single servings of breakfast cereal for $3.50 each. A 3-oz package of ramen noodles, around 45¢ in the grocery store, is 73¢. A container of imitation sugar-free honey at $7.80 would be out of your reach. (more…)
Why Criminal Justice Reform?
Some people have asked me why I am so passionate about criminal justice reform. Here is why.
First of all, we have a system that is very expensive (in VT for example, it costs $60k per year to incarcerate one individual, and that is not including the police and court costs, etc.) but we have poor outcomes for our investment. By that I mean, what we do does not work—it does not lead to greater public safety or less crime. It does not rehabilitate folks. Research shows that, all things being equal, a prison sentence actually makes people more likely to re-offend. So does that mean I am saying let’s just close the prisons and let everyone free? No. But what I am saying is this: we need to think much harder about who we incarcerate, why, and for how long. A majority of those in prison can be supervised in the community more effectively, less expensively, and with better results for families and communities. In Europe for example, they don’t really have “life sentences.” The most someone might get would be 10-14 years for the most serious crimes. What is their re-offense rate like compared to ours? I think you can guess. So what amazes me is how happy we are to just keep punishing people to satisfy our anger, and to spend a lot of tax dollars to do so–tax dollars that could go to mental health services, housing, parenting programs or any number of initiatives that might help prevent criminal behavior in the first place. We do not insist on good outcomes from our justice system. Most of us don’t even know much about the system. It does not serve the greater good–or even the goal of public safety–to happily pouring money into a system just to get our pound of flesh. In many cases, we contribute to our own future victimization and/or tax burden. (more…)
Employment in Prison, Part 2
The opportunity for employment is only available to sentenced incarcerated persons. The job selections range from custodial type jobs, to painting, and kitchen work. In each housing unit, there are two laundry worker positions and a unit cleaner position. Generally, there is also a living unit cleaner who handles the exterior hallways between units. Maintainence positions cover mowing the grass, sweeping and/or shoveling walkways and maintainence and repair of the appliances in each unit – microwaves, washers/dryers. They also handle the loading dock responsibilities. Due to security issues, all of these positions are so heavily supervised, everything takes twice as long… and due to the lack of proper wages and unskilled laborers, everything is done less than half as well. Officers are overworked and taxed with with not only being a correctional officer, but also a personnel manager and supervisor. (more…)
The Reality of Prisoner Employment
During the recent discussion about Proposal 2, which, if passed, would prohibit slavery and indentured servitude in the state constitution, its effect on incarcerated people working inside our state prisons came up. Are these people working as slaves of the state?
In a September 20,2022 article in VtDigger, we read:
“Rachel Feldman, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections, told VTDigger that the department does “not see any issue with Proposal 2 and our current policies and practices” around employing incarcerated Vermonters. Those workers do earn less per hour than minimum wage, Feldman said, but they are not forced to perform labor, and they apply for their positions at correctional facilities.”
This is true, but the facts as stated here don’t describe the situation in the facilities. To say that the workers earn less than minimum wage is an understatement. the great majority of them make $1.25 a day (yes, per day), or less. A handful of jobs requiring more skill can pay as much as $7 a day. Still, there are not enough jobs to go around, and people are grateful for the small amount that they can earn. (more…)