This letter was written by a person incarcerated at High Desert.
PrisonPandemic,
Thank you for having the time from within your busy day to take a moment and write me. Now I want to acknowledge that I am not one to correspond with people I do not know. However your kind words caught me by surprise and my attention. There forward I am acknowledging you and must say I appreciate you reaching out to me.
For everything good happens for a positive purpose.
It feels awesome to know people as yourself exist in the world and it is a great pleasure to meet you. I did not really catch your signature at the end of your message. However I went off the name posted on the envelope. Furthermore I would like to personally introduce myself.
As well as ask a few questions in return and in return get your response and insight to what your actually trying to accomplish.
Maybe I can be of good help due to the fact that I’ve been in prison for a while now. Well I’ve been in prison or incarcerated since the age of 17 and I’m 31 now. I was convicted as an juvenile and sentenced to 17 years. Case factors I will leave off these lines.
With all due respect until I feel comfortable enough with you to share my life story with you etc.
With that being said I’ve been incarcerated for 15 years now. And I have a few months left to finally see freedom as a second chance to transition apart of the universe and make a difference in people’s lives. So people do not ever have to experience being imprisoned period. As I write further since you are the special one who reached out to me.
If it’s not too much to ask for I’d like to correspond directly with you so that once you reach your peak with your team I’d be apart of that historical project as well. I would like to have a good understanding directly with you and not the whole PrisonPandemic team. Plus I am an artist/tattooist so if and when I send you any of my work I want to believe and trust it is in good hands.
Also what ever I share with you I’d like to believe I can count on you at the same time know it is also safe and in good hands? And I must express this because I value my art and cherish the things I express rather it’s through letters art or even music. Because it’s a gift and gifts are meant for one to be token care of, you get me? So as long as we are on the same page with that it’s good.
Now as for the pandemic, I caught COVID my self being an critical worker for COVID because they did not provide us critical workers with the right PPE materials. It wasn’t given to us during the time it broke out here and HDSP. However my experience I could not taste, smell, nor eat. It felt like my life was coming to an end.
I was placed on quarantine in a cold cell with no blanket or sheets for three days. Feeling like I was going to die until a nurse finally saw me and ordered me some medication. However I am a COVID survivor and to keep it simple it wasn’t very easy experiencing that, it was very difficult to cope with. No phone calls, no mail, no canteen.
Yeah it’s deep just thinking about it. I am happy to still be alive and make it through. I wasn’t the only one who went through and made it. Two inmates died!
So it’s a blessing to be alive. At the same time I did not want to be a critical worker based on the whole experience I went through. I caught COVID, survived, and would’ve appreciated an expedited release being that I have a few months left and they denied me.
And the population on this yard all caught it based on CDCR poor decision. By placing inmates who had it from say yard on this GP main line yard thinking that it would resolve everything all it did was spread. However it’s not or there isn’t a voice for us. None of us including our loved ones like how we are limited to 30-minute Zoom or Skype visits, it’s bad here.
We don’t make our draws for months at a time whenever store is ran. And a whole lot to explain but I’m staying strong. Hoping to make it out of here alive.
Aside from that, I’d like to inquire about how does PrisonPandemic work? What do you offer? What kind of help is given? How does the art work?
Send you help PrisonPandemic or COVID out? Also I like to ask how did my name get specifically to your hands? I’m curious because you mentioned those “good thoughts” and wrote you hope I believe in myself as much as you believe in me?
Because I did not know you before and it’s crazy how you came into my life out of the blue. I am very caring, at the same time I am careful what I write or express to people. Because I do not want anyone to feel offended by anything I like to express with anyone. Because I can be very blunt and I do note I must be careful with that because it’s a new era and generation.
Not saying that what you wrote isn’t OK with me.
However for every deep thinker as myself I thought about this question. How does one believe in another if one person doesn’t know the other person existed? I understand the positive vibes and thought, which is what counts. However it only encouraged me to write you and want to get to know you as an individual.
So I can believe in you if that makes any sense to you? On top of that you mentioned people are thinking about me, us, out there, which is a good thing. But I didn’t know that because when I was on the verge of dying, I didn’t receive not a single letter. In fact my family did not even know I caught COVID.
I thought I’d give you something deeper to ponder on since you are collecting stories for every story comes a question. And if I can make you that much more sharper than being keen is the reason I exist, and here to help out. Smile! I will always be honest on how I feel. Thank you for your time and patience I wish to hear back from you.
May you as well as your loved ones continue to be in the best of wits.
God bless and do not forget to wash your hands and wear a mask as I humbly sign off.
Respectfully.
