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Prophet Minutes and News
On Thursday, May 30th POH has been invited to meet the two new chaplains that will be serving the jail’s spiritual needs. They are a part of the Santa Clara County Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy. They will be working 16 hours a week addressing the religious requests from inmates. Kristie worked with them when she worked in Santa Clara County.
Update: Seven us met Chaplain Liz Minor and Angel Hernandez. They shared their backgrounds and how they will be supportive of the work we do in and out of the jail. Liz shared that we can participate in their zoom trainings and she encouraged us to reach to them if we wanted to participate. At this time Liz is working on Tuesdays in the main jail and Angel is working Thursdays at Rountree.
Kathy and Patty prepared more clothing bags for the women and dropped them off at the jail. Kristie reached out and advised that the jail has not been consistent in providing women being discharged with our clothing bags. She is not sure where the breakdown is but is looking into it. She did note that the jail has ordered clothing for men but again it is a hit and miss situation in getting the men the clothing.
Bev has been offered an opportunity for POH to have a retreat in the late summer or early fall. We had a discussion on what we might want if we do have a retreat. The retreat center is here locally and we are being offered a discounted opportunity. Barbara has been at the retreat center a number of times and shares that it is wonderful.
Joliene reported on the jail lobby ministry. They are now serving on two Saturdays a month. Joliene shared that they served family members, individuals being released and a couple of correctional officers. She indicated she had a lengthy conversation with a father whose son had been arrested and also offered a prayer. Jane is very proactive when it comes to the schedule and supporting her team. Joliene also noted that our very own Grant baked cookies for one of the Saturdays and he indicated to Bev he would provide cookies both Saturdays. Grant, at 102, is our role model for service.
Carol brought us up to date on the resource guide. She indicated that a friend had said we needed to up our tech game. Bev and Carol talked about a QR code. Joliene offered to look into putting a QR code on our document. Carol and Bev were elated.
Bev has received a number of positive comments regarding how helpful the guide has been.
Update: Joliene moved the guide into google docs AND affixed a QR code. Copies of the latest guide with the QR code were placed in the lobby and sent to Kristie at the jail, the public defenders office and the IG’s office. Thank you Joliene!!
Peter provided us with an update on the Sunday faith services. He has had the experience of no one showing up, no Spanish speakers wanting to come and the CO being willing to ask if there were English speakers who wanted to come. Most folks who go into the jail emphasized that we have all experienced no one showing up. We serve whoever shows up. Peter is looking into finding a Spanish speaking partner but in the meantime he is doing his best to cover the two Sundays a month.
Kristie shared about an experience where one of the women began to verbally spiral in her time of sharing. Kristie handled the situation well. People shared different ways of dealing with certain situations all with a compassionate presence. Folks were reminded that if a situation feels like it is getting out of hand they can push the button and/or note it on the attendance sheet. Sometimes it may feel like we are ‘telling’ on the person; however, it might be a flag for someone to check in with the person. We should always be mindful that the women and men have suffered numerous traumas and we never know what might be upsetting to them.
Kathy shared with us about CASA and her new youth.
As noted last month Juvenile Hall is currently housing six youth. In light of the consistently low population and the current county budget constraints, probation has decided that they will no longer be sending our youth out of the county for detention or programming i.e. ranch camp. This is the best news and something we have been advocating for over the past four years. According to probation they will split the two units into the Secure Treatment youth and the juvenile hall youth. While I thought this might take some time, probation advises they hope to be up and running by October 1st. It was noted that if a youth has specific needs such as being a female youth they may have to transfer the youth to a different county for specific programming needs. They are looking at what programs will need to be a part of the new Secure Treatment program. For instance, Santa Clara County has a desk and a book shelf in the cell/room more like a dorm then a jail. So we will see how this all plays out but it is good news for the youth and their families.
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