voices
Prisons Of Our Own Making
1*128
APRIL 1. 2011
W W W .JU S T O U T.C O M
Jenny had access to health care, would she have
shoved that needle in her arm the first time? If
Lisa hadn’t lost her job due to a financial crisis
and had help getting back on her feet, would she
The first time I drove through the entrance
have succumbed to the downward spiral in
o f Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, I won
which she found herself? It’s easy to speculate—
dered, “W hat happened to all the color?” The
and harder to change— a system that focuses on
high fences topped with razor wire were less
cleaning up messes rather than preventing them
intimidating than the overwhelming tones o f
like an invisible cloud. They tried not to look too
warm shower,’’ she said. “Before I came to prison,
neutrality. I walked through the huge metal
long at us, each taking a quick inventory o f our
I was sleeping under a bridge.” I told her that
doors and saw the officer sitting behind a glass
clothes and shoes, something quite interesting to
prison shouldn’t be a step up for anyone.
wall. I slipped him my identification through
someone who's been wearing the same thing for
There are nearly 1,200 inmates at Coffee
cent since the 1980s and is rising. They are virtu
the metal slot. “You’re a little older than the rest
years: denim jeans and navy blue sweatshirts with
Creek, and it’s estimated that close to 80 percent
ally invisible to the rest o f us; their stories don’t
o f the students, aren’t you?” he mused. “Thanks
“IN M A T E ” printed in orange. All o f their shoes
o f them have a diagnosis o f mental illness. M ost
really matter to anyone and there will be a long
for noticing,” I answered. He gave me a red visi
were clean— like they’d never been worn outside.
were victims o f violence who often turned to il
line o f women to replace them upon their re
1 wondered how long it would take before I
legal drugs to self-medicate. W hen “Jenny” was
spective releases. They will walk back out into a
The inmates came into the room after us; we
heard their stories. We weren’t permitted to ask
a young mother o f two, she suffered a serious car
world that doesn’t care about their situation, and
were the “outside” students and they were the
them what crime they committed— and they
accident that required her to be on large doses o f
their future will consist o f trying to find some
“inside” students and together we were partici
were encouraged not to tell us— but most peo
pain medication and, like so many, she became
one to hire an ex-convict and figuring out how
pating in a college class called “Inside O ut
ple can’t help but share glimpses o f their lives.
dependent. Upon losing her health insurance,
to put food on the table for their children (those
she took up a friend’s offer, heroin. “And that
who still have custody o f their children).
tor’s tag and led me through a metal detector.
from occurring in the first place.
The number o f women incarcerated in the
United States has increased more than 400 per
Prison Exchange.” This terminology was in
“Tam i” came to Coffee Creek six years ago at
tended to create a more equal atmosphere in
age 19. She has two sons that she only men
which we could relate to each other as fellow
tioned once. Seventy percent o f the inmates have
“Lisa” didn’t finish the eighth grade but al
prison in which they live is and will continue to
pupils, classmates and peers. The idea is good in
children; my classmates shared the difficulties o f
ways managed to find good jobs, ending up in
be their safety net. That concept seems so very
theory, were it not for the fact that at the end o f
keeping in touch with their kids— most o f them
the mortgage business. W hen she lost her job,
backward to me but can’t change until we col
class, we checked out with the guard and got
separated by long distances and caregivers or ex-
things started to go downhill. That, coupled
lectively decide to put humanity first and capi
our driver’s licenses back. We walked to our
husbands who can’t or won’t bring the children
with a few bad relationships and poor self-es
talism last, and learn to serve people rather than
cars and drove away to continue our days, going
for visits. Envelopes and stamps must be pur
teem, led her to crime— and to the minimum
attempt to fix them. Maybe then women like
to work or class— or like me, to Costco to make
chased with money earned from each woman’s
security unit she shares with 200 other women.
Tam i, Jenny and Lisa will have a chance. J# ]
my weekly $100 contribution that keeps me in
prison job. The most an inmate can earn in a
These three classmates made big enough m is
Cabernet Sauvignon, shampoo and rotisserie
month is around $70, which must pay for every
takes to land them in prison. Still, I can’t help
Names have been changed to protect the inmates'
chicken.
thing, including phone calls, toiletries, shoes and
but think that the rest o f us played a hand in
identities. Kathryn M artini is a freelance writer ,
They seemed just as intimidated by us as we
extras. Tami told me about the opportunities af
their fall. I f Tami had proper shelter and a basic
blogger and columnist. Reach her through kath-
were of them, anxiousness permeating the room
forded her in prison. “In here I have a bed and
education, would she have turned to crime? If
rynmartini.com.
was it,” she explained. “I ended up here.”
For many o f the women in my class, the
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