Lisa Hanneman does not give up easily. Reforming our prisons and jails is hard, grinding work. It has demanded years of effort by Lisa and the other members of ESTHER’s Transformational Justice Task Force. Lisa became involved with the group in 2016 because, in the County Jail, her son who was a terminal brain cancer patient, could not get his cancer, anti-nausea and pain medications at the times that the doctor had prescribed. As Lisa worked to improve her son’s treatment, she discovered ESTHER, and it turned out that she was not alone. Other members of the Task Force had encountered the same problem, and the Task Force decided to take action together. You might think that this was a small problem that could be resolved easily, but you would be wrong, as Lisa discovered.
This week’s Summer of Solidarity session offers an opportunity to meet some of the powerful women of the FREE campaign, to learn about the issue of Housing for Women Returning from Incarceration, and to learn how we can all help.
Leaders from MICAH, EXPO and WISDOM have worked in recent years to establish the FREE Campaign. FREE is an initiative specifically of, by and for women who have experienced incarceration. Recently, FREE got a big boost in the form of a generous grant from the Wheaton Fransiscan Sisters, which has allowed them to hire staff specifically for the campaign.
After hundreds of conversations with women who have returned from jails or prisons, FREE has discerned that HOUSING is their top issue of concern. It is especially important for women who are trying to reunite their families, and who cannot do so without first establishing that they have safe, stable, decent places to live for themselves and their children.
These are weekly Zoom meetings sponsored by WISDOM and EXPO covering community organizing approaches and social justice topics of concern in the state and region during the summer of 2020.
This Friday, July 31, Human Rights Watch will issue a national report on issues related to “Extended Supervision.” The report singles out Wisconsin as a state very much in need of reform - something EXPO and WISDOM have been trying to get attention to for years! The principal author of the Human Rights Watch report will join us on Saturday, August 1, as will some members of EXPO. who will give first-hand accounts of the impact of excessive “supervision,” crimeless revocation, and the like.
Recently, Gov. Tony Evers offered a powerful statement about how we should respond to the Black Lives Matter movement. He said, “We must offer our compassion, we must offer our support, most of all we must offer our action.” Now, we are asking you to contact Governor Evers to urge him to take his own advice. It is time for him to take action to reduce the prison population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Communicate with Governor Evers to express your concern and to urge him to act!
On October 19, WISDOM members (including several from ESTHER), led by EXPO (EX-incarcerated People Organizing) and SIP (Supporters of Incarcerated People) started a vigil outside the Governor's mansion. The purpose of the vigil is to challenge the Governor to seriously address the issue of COVID-19 in Wisconsin’s prisons. The group is calling on the Governor to hold a press conference to specifically address this issue, which directly impacts more than 30,000 Wisconsinites who live and work in the state’s prisons.
We hope he acts soon, but we want to be prepared for the long haul. Read more to find out what you can do to keep this issue high on the Governor’s agenda.
When the prison doors open and a person steps out, it's over, right? Wrong. After prison, a person has to change their life. If they don't, well, the door will be opening again. In the wrong direction.
The Box is a Barrier
People leaving prison need to get jobs, and support their families. So they go to fill out a job application and the first question is, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" And if they check that box, they know that most likely their application will be thrown away. How do you remake yourself if there are no jobs?
How can we as a society say we want to reduce prison recidivism when we don't allow people to get jobs? We may say that someone has "paid their debt" but as long as they can't get the job they need; they are still in debt. And the community is the one paying the debt.
We Don’t Need the Barrier
Employers, and that includes the county organizations that have this box, think that they are protecting themselves. They are afraid that people that committed one crime will commit another. They forget that people can and do turn their lives around and that the information is publicly available. Some people would then argue that if employers can find out a prospective employee has a criminal record, what does it matter if there is a box? Employers get first impressions. If that impression is of a great potential employee, they think of employment. On the other hand, what if that first impression is "felon"?
Let's help make people make great first impressions.
Budget Listening Session on Criminal Justice Reform
Governor Evers is holding virtual listening sessions as he prepares his 2021-23 State Budget proposal. Wisconsinites are encouraged to offer their thoughts and recommendations for the Governor to consider.
To be allowed to participate, you need to register. You can do so at the Governor's website here. You can watch the live-stream on Wis-Eye here.
You can also submit written comments or suggestions here.
There will be a WISDOM Zoom meeting on December 8 at 5:00 pm (the hour before the Governor’s “Criminal Justice” listening session), specifically to talk about WISDOM’s priorities for criminal justice reform in the coming state budget. If you would like to join that Zoom in order to prepare for the Listening Session, please email david.liners1@gmail.com to receive the link. Among other things, WISDOM wants the Governor to:
keep his campaign promise to increase Treatment Alternatives and Diversions (TAD) funding by $15 million per year
pledge that there will be no money for new prisons or for prison expansions
plan for the closing of the Green Bay Correctional Institution and redirect that money to a Justice Reinvestment Fund that can go to programs that benefit the people and communities that have been most badly hurt by mass incarceration.
On October 19, WISDOM members (including several from ESTHER), led by EXPO (EX-incarcerated People Organizing) and SIP (Supporters of Incarcerated People) started a vigil outside the Governor's mansion. The purpose of the vigil is to challenge the Governor to seriously address the issue of COVID-19 in Wisconsin’s prisons. The group is calling on the Governor to hold a press conference to specifically address this issue, which directly impacts more than 30,000 Wisconsinites who live and work in the state’s prisons.
Part of the “Autumn of Action” series coordinated by WISDOM, this presentation is sponsored by WISDOM/EXPO
