This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Calipatria.
January 28, 2021
Hello PrisonPandemic project,
I appreciate your genuine concern in regard to our (prisoners’) experience and living conditions during this pandemic. It has been stressful and mentally trying to say the least. It’s not easy being heard when you are considered the voiceless among human beings.
Dealing with this COVID pandemic has made already stressful and complexed situation even more troubling. It has been hard to maintain any consistent family communication because all of our privileges (phone calls, visits) have been compromised and restricted so we (prisoners) have been forced to live each day not knowing about our loved ones wellbeing and that alone can have a detrimental effect on our spirit making it hard and impossible to have hope, faith, good cheer, etc.
Then to make matters worse we are treated as if we are lab rat experiments. We were not giving mask until mid June, or May. Housing has not been securely organized people are forced to be housed with inmates that have been tested positive for the virus. To be honest at times it was scary. I mean don’t get me wrong I understand that we are incarcerated and by no means am I expecting special privileges due to tragic times.
But to be among correctional officers daily that (actually brought the virus inside the prison) but we can’t be around our family and loved one’s seems unfair.
I’ve been incarcerated for over a decade now and I’ve never been stressed so hard before. I have another that’s of old age. My dad had a stroke since this pandemic, and I’ve witnessed people being transferred to hospitals due to COVID. (So far one person died and I knew him).
Their only solution so far for us (prisoners) is to keep us in these cells 23 hours a day, award us a shower, and a phone call (15 minutes) whenever the program permits this to be done.
It’s a bad reality for us and this PrisonPandemic project is a blessing in disguise because a lot of us (prisoners) don’t have a voice and/or feel like nobody cares about our struggle.
I do not know how my name was raffled and picked but I am grateful. Thank you guys for caring about the voiceless and may God reward you guys for your good deeds.
Best wishes,
Prisoner.
