These funds will be used for phone & commissary funds for moms In IDOC & CCDOC, especially those who don't get visits from their kids due to distance, poverty & other barriers faced by families surviving incarceration.
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We cannot thank you enough, generous donors of any amount. While Callidarity funds have always been important to support mom to stay in contact with their kids, and to purchase needed items off commissary, the need for these funds has been greater than ever as Covid-19 vectors through jails and prisons, and the only protection many in Logan, Decatur and Cook County Jail have had has been the soap and masks we've sent in, along with other community groups, and the ability to call and email updates and asks to loved ones. We will continue to raise these funds for as long as there are moms inside. Thank you for your support and solidarity, especially during Mother's Day month, a time that is always hard for moms inside. #FreeOurMoms #FreeThemAll
Calls to loved ones are very expensive for incarcerated people, whose loved ones must find the money to put onto their accounts in order to make those calls. Incarceration overwhelmingly affects poor families, and some are spending all additional funds to care for the kids who are separated from moms as a result. In other cases, kids are not with family, and it is all the more important that these kids can get calls from mom, who in turn is checking to make sure her kids are safe.
Moms in state prisons are an average of 169 miles from their kids. Calls can also help moms establish regular contact, which is crucial for moms working to reunite with kids when they are released.
Since 2015 Moms United Against Violence & Incarceration (MUAVI) has been raising phone funds for moms at Logan, Decatur and Cook County Jail to ensure a lifeline during painful separation.
Most imprisoned people will return one day, but for some that will be a long time. We must work to get people free through commutation campaigns, defense campaigns, and by demanding community-based resources over all forms of incarceration. And, we must do what we can to support families right now.
Image credit: Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski
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We cannot thank you enough, generous donors of any amount. While Callidarity funds have always been important to support mom to stay in contact with their kids, and to purchase needed items off commissary, the need for these funds has been greater than ever as Covid-19 vectors through jails and prisons, and the only protection many in Logan, Decatur and Cook County Jail have had has been the soap and masks we've sent in, along with other community groups, and the ability to call and email updates and asks to loved ones. We will continue to raise these funds for as long as there are moms inside. Thank you for your support and solidarity, especially during Mother's Day month, a time that is always hard for moms inside. #FreeOurMoms #FreeThemAll
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Many thanks to all who donated to Callidarity already, and encouraged your networks as well. We had not planned to be asking for additional funds so soon, but in-person visits within IDOC and Cook County Jail are suspended for the time being and the ability to make calls and have video visits is more crucial than ever. We also hope to help with needs for hygiene and cleaning items from commissary, in addition to direct donation of those items via local supporters. Please reach out if you live near Decatur or Logan prisons too.
In addition to donating and/or asking networks to donate, within folks capacity (your needs matter too!), we ask that you help us uplift the demand for all facilities to provide FREE calls, free video visits, free online course and free hygiene and cleaning products. We are also asking the facilities and elected officials, e.g. the governor, utilize clemency and early release provisions to release as many people as possible as a public health response. Social distancing is not possible in detention, prisons. We ask that elderly and immuno-compromised people, pregnant and post-partum,, transgender people and people who have less than 18 months left on their sentences be released immediately. There are many kinds of ways people are made more vulnerable when social and legal visits are suspended, in addition to the risk of infection.
The Illinois Coalition of Higher Education in Prison has drafted a letter and petition that addresses a number of those demands and more. Please, also sign and share this: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczjYVa8LwBAbjz4R1ho-12zzWoZ_rIcqWAkjnhogof4adHqw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR04IW9xuPCqTK61Uut5xT2K_KFXVSqH1z0pd9scm5g6lknSOVCvJCpd8lM
The Chiicago Community Bond Fund has also created a document to demand release of people in Cook County Jail, the majority of whom are pre-trial, or have very short sentences. Many are primary caregivers. Please join in the call-in today to demand their release: https://www.facebook.com/events/648361939310592/
Thank you for your support. The fact that people have been able to mobilize the mutual support they have already speaks to the organizing and advocacy we've been doing together all this time. Thank you.
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Many thanks, generous supporters! Together we've met our goal of weekly calls for 40 moms. This means so much to moms inside and their kids. In Illinois prisons, about 80% of incarcerated women are moms of minor kids, and they are an average of 169 miles apart. Your solidarity matters.
Anything additional that we raise will allow up to meet new requests. Right now there are 147 people at intake in Logan, the largest women's prison in IL. No doubt many are moms and will have need to make a call to kids as soon as they are "classified", though they have no ability to do that right now. We will do this work in solidarity until all are home and truly free. Love and Solidarity, beloved community!
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