When
first appointed, a state coordinator needs to send some newsletters or
flyers to prisons in your state to let them know we’re out here. To find
prisoners addresses, check on line at pan pal sites, or find prisoners web
sites that are all over the web. Another way is the prisoner locator for
each state. Put in a generic last name like Jones, Smith and all the
prisoners in the state with that last name will come up. It will list the
prisoners name and number and prison. Then get the prison address and
send a flyer in to the prisoner. Try to get four or five for each prison.
Print out either the first issue of the
newsletter, or send copies of our flyer, which I'll post below, telling
about us, or print out the latest issue. It is also good to try and get a
good rapport with the wardens in your area that you will cover. To do
this, write a letter using the JDC letterhead to each warden, introducing
yourself and telling him what the JDC is and say you hope you can work
together to ensure that each prisoner is getting their medical care.
Most coordinators get a post office box for
security reasons. Your name and address will be listed in the newsletter
to write to for medical problems. You will make a database of all the
prisoners you are helping; using Jeans copy of what she does each month.
You will send your director a copy every month, who will in turn send them
to me. This MUST be done the first of every month. All coordinators are to
send newsletters to all prisoners they get for their states. If you
cannot do this, let the director know you aren’t able to so someone else
can do this.
Even if you do not have any prisoners in one
month, you must send a report saying so. Not doing so will result in your
being coordinator status being taken away.
A lot of the cases, you
can handle yourself. Cases that are not life threatening. For those cases
that need more, that are life threatening, we put out an alert. Your
director will help you through the first few until you get the hang of it.
A sample alert is included in this as well. In this alert, you will put
the contacts the alert is to be mailed to, faxed or called about.
When you as coordinators
send out a release of information or Power of Attorney for the prisoner to
send back to you, put your own mailing address at the top so the release
can be sent to you as you are working on the case. It only takes more time
and money if they send the paper work back to the head office instead of
to you. The same with any other papers you send out, put your contact
info on it for them to answer you and not send it through the home office.
We’d like all our leaders to have a JDC web site. There are many free
sites out there and you’d have your own state information on it. Our
contacts should be the Governor, Commissioner of Corrections, Attorney
General, Secretary of Corrections, Federal Bureau of health care,
Commissioner, all the wardens, and all prisons, Senators, Representatives.
You also need all the newspapers in the state, some TV stations, radio
shows and any other media in that state. It is up to each coordinator to
keep track each year and keep your state web pages up to date. Send new
information to Shirley Dicks to be updated.
You will also mail out
the newsletters to the prisoners you are working on, as well as trying to
get into prisons you haven’t had any mail from yet, and try to get word
out about us. The coordinators are also to get members in their chapters
in the states that they have under them. We need chapters in all states.
I will put below ideas on how to go about getting membership to your
chapter.
Coordinators have a
separate listing on egroups where they can talk over any problems with
each other. This is so they don’t have to discuss issues with the members
on the main group. We like to hold a meeting a month that we ask all
coordinators to participate in. If you can’t make even one meeting, let
your director know the reasons and then you can send her any subjects
you’d like to have discussed and ruled on. Only those who attend the
meetings vote on the issues talked about. We do this in order to help you
if you have questions about an issue and it keeps the sprits up to talk
over what’s been going on.
Steps For Chapter
Leaders
1.)
Receive first request for services from inmates.
1.)
Send out “initial contact letter”, “information forms” and “power
of attorney forms”.
2.)
Upon receipt of signed forms, determine whether the inmate has a
general problem or a life threatening matter.
3.)
If a general problem, write a letter from your chapter to the
Warden and/or medical director.
4.)
If it is life threatening, post an alert
5.)
Everyone will then write to contacts listed on behalf of the
inmate.
6.)
Wait 30 to 45 days and send a contact letter for updated
information to the inmate.
7.)
Upon response from the inmate determine whether there have been
accommodations to the requests sent on his/her behalf. If no action was
taken by the DOC, write another letter to the contacts of the alert from
your chapter.
8.)
Sometimes, a second and possibly third alert is necessary. Use
your best judgment at this point.
9.)
Please keep some type of file on your inmates. Either a paper
file, or an electronic file where all letters and forms are kept
together.
11.) If you write on an
alert put out by another chapter, PLEASE email or snail mail a copy of
your letter to the appropriate contact for the alert listed on the alert.
This is necessary so that we have a record of how many letters are being
sent out on each alert. If you receive a letter sent out on one of your
alerts PLEASE keep a copy in your file for that inmate.
Call the state medical boards and ask for
complaint forms for doctors, you can file complaints and they WILL
intervene. The state board of nursing, dentistry and mental health also
have these complaint forms. We should all get a supply for our state and
send them to the inmates we have alerts on, have them fill them out, sign
them, and they can either have us photocopy them and mail them for them
(keeping one in our files, of course) or they can mail them themselves.
RED CROSS, call or email your Red Cross
in your state, and reminded them of the work they do to make sure foreign
prisoners are treated according to the Geneva Convention, and asked that
they intercede on behalf of US prisoners and see that they are treated in
accordance to State code. I gave them info on senseless deaths, gross
medical neglect, diet, rampant diseases that aren't being contained and
the sick are not even isolated from the public.
When you first start out
in your state, I would recommend sending a letter to each warden in your
state telling who you are, and what we do and tell him you hope you can
work together with him on any problems that might arise. Be nice and
polite and at times this might help to get a good rapport going. I think
we can help the prisoners more if we are on good terms with those in
authority than if we come on too strong and accusingly. I don’t think all
the wardens are bad, but I think if we get on the wrong foot with them in
the beginning, it will be hard to work with them when any problem does
arise in that institution.
Meetings.
All coordinators must attend one meeting a month to keep us up to date on
your state issue. The meetings will be conducted on one of the messengers,
either MSN, or Yahoo messenger on Monday nights. Our meetings are very
important, as it’s the time to ask questions and to vote on any subject we
need to cover.
Things to Do To Get Us Out
There
-
Hold An Event. Such as a walk a thon.
Get people to sponsor the event, and contact all the media in the area so
others will know about it.
-
Post flyers in grocery stores, laundry mats,
telephone poles, schools, colleges, Drs. office, dept stores, book stores
and all places that have a bulletin board.
-
Have a Car wash, yard sale or other fund raising
idea.
-
Call your local radio station and ask them to
interview you on the subject. See if there is a talk show you might
be on.
-
Speak at the library, local high schools, college,
other organizations about the issue.
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