PAST INITIATIVES
donations by JEP member Isa
BOOK DRIVE
JEP has been working towards accumulating books to donate to incarcerated individuals. Access to literature and other forms of education and arts allows prisoners to rehabilitate and move towards re-integrating into society. Thank you to JEP member Isa for donating all the books below!
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"Literature has always been a huge part of my life. As someone who enjoys reading, I consider a good book to be an escape from reality, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to donate to the incarcerated. Living in prison is everything short of enjoyable, but perhaps a good book might make the mundanity of being in prison a bit more bearable. Plus, keeping the incarcerated intellectually stimulated is extremely beneficial to them once they’ve finished serving their time!"
PERIOD PROJECT
THE PROBLEM:
A survey done in 2019 by Missouri found that 88 percent of women reported leaking blood onto their clothes, their bedding, or the floor, and 80 percent used homemade tampons, whether made from clothing or the free pads. Incarcerated women without adequate access to menstrual products craft improvised pads and tampons with socks, mattress stuffing, and toilet paper.
In a Michigan jail, because laundry day occurred once a week, they were forced to re-wear bloody clothes for up to a full week. Prison staff forced those in their care to compete for limited menstrual products, in one case ordering 30 women to share a pack of 12 pads. This behavior was cruel and senseless — except as a method of humiliation and control. (ACLU)
Denying imprisoned women their needs for menstrual products oppresses women’s rights. Women’s specific health needs are not met and acknowledged. From toxic shock and infection to infertility, it is a game of Russian roulette and not a price that anyone should have to pay.
We partnered with HERDRIVE to donate menstrual products, donating over 11K products to address menstrual inequity in our partnered prisons!
CARD INITIATIVE
JEP has created an initiative to send letters to incarcerated individuals across the country. These letters can contain messages of hope and wisdom, jokes, or anything you think may make someone smile. The messages you write will be reformatted into a letter and will be sent to several prisons nationally for those who are incarcerated to read.
Why cards?
In the United States alone, there are millions of individuals incarcerated in both jails and prisons. Many of these people, especially those with long sentences, have little to no contact with the outside world. This lack of genuine connection can be incredibly devastating and dehumanizing. We’re hoping that by sending cards to these individuals, it will help them know that they have people rooting for them, and perhaps it will restore a bit of their faith in humanity. All we are hoping for is to give them a reason to smile.
