This story was told by a person incarcerated at Soledad.
UCI: So if possible, could you like- so COVID started, you know, I mean, it really blew up like in March, and so you said you’re the last facility to get it?
Caller: Yeah, we didn’t get a case until like, September. Actually, was it? It was September or- wait a second. It was August.
UCI: Wow.
Caller: We didn’t get a case until August.
UCI: So could you like trace? So every month? So as soon as March happened, everything went down on lockdown- no more visitation, no more programming, nothing, right?
Caller: Well, yeah, they stopped visitation in March.
UCI: Right, OK.
Caller: They were just being- preparing for it. Now, you can go online to the CDC website, and it’ll tell you under COVID-19, it’ll tell you the infection at each prison.
Or you can go to the San Quentin Prison Law Office, they will tell you that information too. They manage those numbers because they have to report it to the health department and the counties.
UCI: So since I mean, since you guys have been on lockdown, and off and on consistently since March, I mean, pretty much the whole time, what have you been doing specifically to your wellbeing and like your mental health and stuff?
Caller: Man I’ve been reading, I’ve been reading. I’m taking a couple of distance learning courses from a college that’s here. I’m taking two college courses. And then I’m doing this, we have a program here called the Five Ventures, you can look it up.
The other thing is, you know, it’s just, it’s like a daily grind. You know, the human condition is awesome. It can adapt to any situation given to man but you just have to, like, figure out a program for you. Some guys don’t have it that good.
They can’t, you know, you don’t have a TV. We have guys in here with no TVs in their cell. So they’re in there 23 hours a day, or they have no radio, they’re in there 23 hours a day, you know.
UCI: Wow.
Caller: Because when I say the 23 hours, you’re actually in there 24 because they shower you three days a week.
UCI: Mhmm.
Caller: So and that’s really what I mean- you’re only out of the cell five hours a week. Normally we’d be out of the cell from nine, that’s it from 6 a.m. so that’s like we’d be out of the cell 18 hours.