Friday, April 5 from 5-7p.m. in the Social Room, here at the Church
Did you know that there are a growing number of North Country folks engaged in prison visitation and letter writing to folks incarcerated in our local prisons across the region? Did you know that there are families living downstate who can’t regularly visit their incarcerated relatives, especially their young sons, who are living in prisons in the North Country? Jane Haugh and her friends at Wake the North Country are building a network of support across the North Country, and they need more good people to offer support in whatever capacity they can. Downstate families contact them with requests to check in on a family member, especially when they have not had news in a while. A visitor is dispatched, who then reports back to the concerned family.
What is visiting like? The UN has declared that more than 15 days in solitary confinement is torture under the Mandela Rules that the US signed off on. Recently Jane visited an 18 year old who had not been out of a cell the size of a bathroom for over 8 months. She writes, “You might think that this visit was a difficult, depressing, and heartbreaking, and it can be all that — but actually I spent two hours laughing at silly childhood pet stories, buying him too much candy from the vending machines, and promising I would find him someone to visit next month at the latest. He gave me the tiniest wave as I was leaving and he was waiting to be cuffed before going back to the box.”
What can we do?? Jane will be visiting us to talk about incarceration in general, solitary confinement, how her volunteers enter the prison system, what it’s like to go inside, and any other questions anyone has about doing this work. If you can make a visit once a week, once a month, or only occasionally, you are needed! Or maybe you are interested in writing to someone rather than sitting down across from them? Come and learn about ways you can make a difference. Your visits and letters help break down the walls that are there to keep us from seeing as much as they are meant to keep the incarcerated inside.
Mark your calendars and invite a friend! We’ll share a light soup and bread supper as we learn about this vital ministry.
Contact Eileen Raymond for more information.