This story was told by a person incarcerated at John Latorraca Correctional Center.
UCI: And speaking of the shots, how has the vaccination situation been like for you at your facility?
Caller: Oh, they’re – they’re offering it to anybody that wanted it, freely. They’re – they’re good for it. I mean, I won’t say good for it, but they have offered it to everybody in this facility equally.
UCI: I – I do agree with you. This is, we’re in a pandemic and just being able to see your loved ones is so important. And I’m so sorry that your facility is lacking in that.
Caller: So, I mean, I’m trying to do everything the right way through, you know, asking, the grievances and I have to wait for the process. And sometimes, it’s a long process. Like I said, it’s like months before they get a hold of you.
And then just to go to the next level, and then to the next level. And by then, you know, that’s two, three months that went by just for them to give you the runaround sometimes. Because, not so much because they’re –
I don’t know if their hands are tied up because of what their bosses are telling them or what’s going on. I mean they’re, I asked for paperwork and nobody wants, they just give me the runaround sometimes. But again, I only asked verbally, so now I want to, we’re actually, like, put paperwork in and request under, what’s it called?
Their – their protocol for visits and why haven’t they given it to us? They – they were supposed to, we were supposed to get visits, like, maybe three months ago. They postponed it and they keep on postponing it.
They’re supposed to get them this month and they postponed it. And but that’s what they’re saying. They’re not saying why, or who, what, where. Or how long the – the postponement is.
I mean, they leave us in here without really knowing anything. It’s terrifying. I think if they would just keep us in, like you know, informed on what’s going on, on stuff that pertains to us, it would be perfect to us. Because, I mean so, I mean it would – it would help a lot of people.
UCI: I agree, it would help a lot of people. I’m with you on that one.
Caller: So, I mean, this facility is a good facility, like, to be housed. They put you where you need to be put.
And, I mean, they put the squares with the squares. They put the violent people with the violent people. However you want to put it.
I mean, and then the COs and all that, they all, they don’t mistreat you or anything like that, anytime. You know, they do their jobs and everything like that. It’s the – it’s the visits, I think it’s unfair for them to take our visits like that.
Especially, like, right now that everything is up and running. Banks, schools, gas stations, grocery stores, everything is running. But why can’t we get our visits back?
UCI: That is very true. I agree with – I agree with you.
Caller: I mean, I asked one CO verbally and he said, “Oh, it’s more work than if they go – if they go to – we might get the COVID from somebody that comes in.” I’m like, “Don’t you guys go to the same grocery stores, get the same gas? Don’t you guys go to the, you know, the same car dealerships? You guys drive down the same streets. The same stop signs, I mean, as the people that would come visit us. What’s the difference?”
It’s not like we’re gonna keep – we’re not gonna get in contact with the people from the outside. There’s no way. It’s apparent glass. It’s apparent glass. There’s no way that we could get any kind of contact with them.
