Prison Support Network

01/30/2016

House Bill 2817 Creating an office of DOC Ombuds will have a hearing on Tuesday the 2nd in the O'Brien building Room D at 8 AM. Come and testify or sign-in to support this important legislation.

11/07/2015

In Washington state, a fledgling movement is looking at bringing back parole to reduce the number of people behind bars. Liberals and conservatives nationwide are questioning "tough-on-crime" policies that have led to the world's highest incarceration rate.

07/08/2015

This Saturday, July 11th, is our regular monthly meeting from 10-12 at the Monroe Library. Please come with any questions or concerns, and bring a friend or family member.

We had a great June meeting with Seattle Restorative Justice who brought to us a practice/model of conflict resolution that we all benefited learning. Lets further the conversation.

06/11/2015

For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?

- bell hooks

10/30/2014

Our October Meeting Notes are posted at prisonsupportnetwork.blogspot.com.

Our next meeting is at the Monroe Public Library on November 8 from 10-12. Call 360-913-5992 with questions.

Free weblog publishing tool from Google, for sharing text, photos and video.

10/20/2014

The meeting notes for Prison Support Network's October meeting are available by emailing your request to [email protected].

Our next meeting is at the Monroe Public Library on November 8 from 10-12. Call 360-913-5992 with questions.

We are in the process of setting up a blog to post information on so that we can link from here to there.... stay tuned.

Respectfully,
Julie Tackett

07/22/2014

Greetings!
The July meeting of Prison Support Network was held on July 12 at the Monroe Public Library. In attendance were families who visit loved ones at Twin Rivers Unit, Washington State Reformatory Unit and Special Offenders Unit. We came up with and followed this suggested format for our meetings.

I. Welcome – general information about PSN, upcoming events and announcements. Confidentiality was assured in that names of attendees would not be published and any reporting of topics discussed would be done in such a way as maintain the anonymity of participants.

II. Introductions – each attendee was given ample time to introduce themselves, talk about their experiences as visitors and share experiences their family member has had during incarceration.

III. Questions, Concerns and Ideas - for each topic brought up, everyone weighed in with knowledge and offered support to those going through difficult times.

IV. Facility Check-In – this month's topic was to review what informational handouts were available at each facility for visitors... for example, brochures available at SOU included Visiting Guidelines, DOC Family Services Unit, and PREA (Prison R**e Elimination Act). Participants are invited to bring items from their facilities to the next PSN meeting.

V. DOC Policy of the Month – each month we will review a DOC Policy. Next month's policy will be DOC 530.150 Family Centered Services, focusing on section V. Family Councils.

VI. Final Comments and Goodbyes
The meeting ended on time so participants could get to their visits.

To receive these minutes in document form, including links to the documents listed, send your request to [email protected].

Respectfully,
Julie Tackett