Holiday Tablet Giveaway for Children of Incarcerated People
Friday, October 30, 2020
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Major Covid-19 Outbreak at Indiana Women's Prison Mishandled, Virus Spreading!
We received these messages from a woman with serious under-lying health conditions who is incarcerated at Indiana Women’s Prison, which is on lockdown due to a major Covid-19 outbreak. The lock-down has already lasted nearly a month. Please see these recent articles from WFYI about conditions at IWP for more information:
Indiana Women's Prison Locked Down Following New COVID-19 Cases
Former Staff Say Turnover At Indiana Women's Prison Is Self-Inflicted
10/07/20
As to now, no out of cell activity. I do not even see out of cell activity for segregation women, most of whom are sick (16). We are once again being denied fresh air, or dayroom recycled air. We are denied space to be apart from others. I spoke to mental health counselor Mr. Purdue about the hour out a day stipulation in federal law...it has been 8 days today.
Write-ups are being undertaken for using the bathroom and phone. A male guard informed me two nights ago he was putting my name on a list to use the bathroom...4 stalls were open at the time, his desire to control just to be controlling pushing me too far.
No rapid testing, only prolonged testing. It has been days, a sick woman is in bad shape breathing. She is still in bad shape with no test results given yet. Many are sick. The c/o's just got a $4 pay increase so their motivation and loyalty may have just took a turn. Hopefully, injustice is still injustice to them, pay raise or not.
10/14/2020
It is harder to stay safe. Hand sanitizer has been removed from the unit because allegations of ppl drinking it. Continuously, no testing is being conducted on cellmates or dormmates after positive cases! It is impossible for me to stay safe. Groups congregate, no sanitation is enforced. It is scary and sad. Frustration builds because everyone's mental health is suffering due to no outside air and not leaving the space of the unit, of which we can't even access openly. Everyone is on edge. We are confined to bathrooms and cells. Better than last time because we can access the bathroom until mass punishment comes in.
However...imagine all the ppl in free society who do not take precautions against covid and who do not care if they get sick or even if they are sick...imagine not being able to take yourself away from those ppl. Whatever your personal take on coronavirus, I have zero ability to stay safe beyond wearing my mask, and that has limits. I am forced to live with positive infectious ppl, and cannot escape their contagiousness, nor can I instill the need for anyone else to protect themselves. This is the worst possible setting for the virus. We have been locked down since September 29th, and still, today, more positive cases on the unit. Another 10 days, there will be more positive cases, and by then, day 25 of being locked down, ppl will care even less because of having had no movement or space.
If our leaders said prison is safe, we need new leaders!
10/19/2020
Cases keep increasing here. Today, bed moves were made to quarantined units; units with positive covid cases. Imagine, being as vulnerable as having lupus and cancer and being placed on a unit with coronavirus. Further the frustration with no cleaning supplies in over 36 hours. We have no cleaning supplies! No hand sanitizer! No soap! Throughout this lockdown we have not had a unit-bleaching (I live on a covid positive unit). We have been denied hand sanitizer since last Wednesday. The soap is being used to clean the bathroom floor at night because no cleaning supplies are issued at night shifts, only day shifts, although not today. Mandatory workers, or those allowed out of units, are kitchen workers and companions. The two covid-19 positive patients in the infirmary are cared for by incarcerated non-paid workers. They must do the work per terms of the prison's programming for PLUS. This go-around the incarcerated workers have a plastic gown and a cloth mask, at least. No cleaning crews exist. No bleach crew. Most of the positive cases on my unit can be attributed to incarcerated laborers having been assigned to cleaning seg, where they first housed covid positive cases. Or, those working as medical assistants to elderly and vulnerable who became sick. The prison acts as a nursing home to these populations, but without true nursing care, replaced by incarcerated care. The systems in place not only refuse to consider the human need of exercise, healthy diet, mental health and medical care, but also common sense safety measures in a pandemic like not moving vulnerable people on covid positive units! The Board of Health is not involved at all. Two times in April, the prison was bleached by people in hazmat suits. While this was minimal it at least verified the health commissioner's assertions at the then daily 2pm Governor show that institutions were attended by state crews.
Thank you for sharing the importance of keeping people safe at IWP.
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