Meeting The Needs Of Those Incarcerated

One of RedBird's gatherings.

There is a small movement in Columbus, Ohio, whose focus is on inmates. If the group has an ultimate goal, it is for there to be no more prisons. But for now, this group, REDBIRD PRISON ABOLITION, seeks to meet the needs of inmates caught in the prison system of today, through corresponding with them.

RedBird is an all-volunteer movement, with several different ongoing projects. They have workshops every other month, in which they focus on some aspect of prison reality, including grand juries, FOIA requests, legal representation, and policing issues. There is an event planned that will commemorate the Lucasville prison uprising next spring. There have been art exhibitions, with inmates being able to submit their art work for public exhibition. A pen pal project helps prisoners keep connected with the world outside prison. An important project is the group's petition opposing the use of a private company which overcharges prisoners to maintain commissary accounts, a virtual lifeline to provide necessities to prisoners and which the poorest inmates cannot afford.



Then there is the postcard project, linked with Redbird's Books To Prisoners project. Post cards are a quick link with prisoners, in which they can jot down information about the conditions within the prisons that need to be addressed. The link to books allows inmates to request educational and reading materials, which the group then tries to obtain and send to the inmates. This aspect of the program has grown to the point that the group handles more than 100 requests each month from around the state of Ohio, especially those in prisons with no libraries or access to books.

Picture for a minute what it would be like being incarcerated, with very little contact with the world outside prison, no programming to occupy your time, and you have no books or magazines to pass the time, either. It's boring; it's mind-numbing; it stifles growth; and it surely does nothing to help you return to the world outside prison.

RedBird does a vital service for inmates, keeping prison issues alive, making sure politicians and the average citizen knows what the conditions are. Even more important, it keeps inmates in touch with their community and gives them the knowledge that someone out there does care.

An inmate letter thanking the group for a dictionary needed for GED classes.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/redbird-books-prisoners/; and the above link.

Click here to visit SoNailicious.

Click here: SAVING MONEY THROUGH POWER SHOPPPING