This letter was written by a person incarcerated at New Folsom.
To the PrisonPandemic project,
Hi, I’m 32 years old of Hispanic descent. I’ve been incarcerated for the past 10 years so you can say I have my ups and downs as an inmate. I also can’t say I’ve gotten used to the life in prison. But for sure I learned to deal with it and take it day by day.
There are things that make it much easier for me as well for my fellow inmates. Some of those things are, for example, receiving commissary, quarter packages, getting visits from our loved ones, or simply our day down by going out to yard, school, and programs we have access to.
This year, during the pandemic, has been very different for us all. The pandemic has affected us in many ways. Honestly, it made our time harder, slower, and very stressful. Some of us lost family members. All of us worried for their health, making it stressful.
Me personally, I almost lost my father. Other ways it made it hard was due to our families losing their jobs. They couldn’t provide for us, so some were not able to receive commissary or quarter packages. Little simple things we look forward to.
One of the most important things to me and that I miss the most is family and all the visits stopped. I haven’t seen my family for over a year, I miss hugging my parents.
Also yard, school, and programs have stopped. Due to that, we are locked down in our cells longer than when program is running normal. Some of us are trying to earn our GED, high school diploma, etc. It’s running now- modified that is- but as soon as it’s up in running, we get quarantined due to being exposed.
As I’m writing this letter in quarantine and haven’t stepped out in 11 days. So to be honest, this past year has been the hardest and most stressful. For not only us inmates, but also for our families. I hope and wish the best for everyone going through this. We are all together in this.
My experience in prison during the pandemic.
