Prison Support Network

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.

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

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 Confidentiality was assured in that names of attendees would not be published and any reporting of topics discussed would be done in such a way as maintain the anonymity of participants.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