From the Future of Children Princeton-Brookings
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Prison Library Closes at Saskatchewan Penitentiary
Inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert will no longer have access to a regional library service, after federal funding was abruptly cut on a contract that had been going for years.
From CBC news
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/04/26/sk-prison-library-130426.html
Public and Prison Libraries
Important, Often Overlooked, Partners in Reentry
From Corrections.com
Can Forgiveness Play a Role In Criminal Justice
Missing Women Commission of Inquiry
From the Globe and Mail, “In Pictures:Vancouver’s Missing Women Inquiry Report Released”
Missing Women Commission of Inquiry – Final Report http://www.missingwomeninquiry.ca/
Canadian Prison Libraries
From Exploring Prison Librarianship
http://exploringprisonlibrarianship.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/canadian-prison-libraries/
Mandatory Sentences Face Growing Skepticism
From the New York Times “For Lesser Crimes, Rethinking Life Behind Bars”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/science/mandatory-prison-sentences-face-growing-skepticism.html
Lawsuit seeks needle exchange programs for prisons
Prisoner, public health at risk without syringe exchanges, AIDS groups allege
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/09/25/aids-organizations-lawsuit-needle-exchange.html
Aboriginal women imprisoned in soaring numbers
New report describes growing ‘crisis’ for aboriginal women
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/09/27/aboriginal-women-prison-report.html
Fundraiser: Book & Rummage Sale
Just a reminder that the GELA (Greater Edmonton Library Association) Women’s Prison Library and Reintegration Subcommittee Book and Rummage sale is this Friday and Saturday.
100% of the proceeds will go to supporting library services to people in Edmonton prisons and correctional centres.
Strathcona Baptist Church
8318-104 Street
(north entrance, gymnasium)
Friday, Sept 7th: 5 pm – 9 pm
Saturday, Sept. 8th: 10 am – 6 pm
Volunteers Needed Storybook Project
About the project…for a few hours on the last Saturday of each month (usually) two volunteers go to the Edmonton Institution For Women to record women reading a storybook to a child. The storybook and audio recording is then mailed to the child.
Volunteers are reimbursed for the cost of CDs, envelopes and postage associated with the project.
You will need your own laptop to record the reading.
The prison is not easily accessible by public transportation. If you don’t have your own transportation to the prison you may be able to carpool with the other volunteer. Carpooling cannot however be guaranteed.
Security clearance and volunteer training is required before you can volunteer at the prison. While the process is not onerous the scheduling of the training can take awhile to coordinate. We are recruiting for volunteers this summer to begin working on the Storybook project in late September, early October.
We are looking for people who can commit to the project for at least one year; and volunteer at the prison at least 2-4 Saturdays a year.
If you are interested in this project contact the project coordinator, Valla at jvmclean@gmail.com
Native Women’s Association of Canada Media Release
Report unveils impacts of residential school linked trauma on Aboriginal women and girls in custody, and calls for a shift from punitive to more transformative and holistic community-based interventions.
Art Exhibit Examines Sidewalk Communication with Edmonton’s Remand Centre
EDMONTON — A citywide art installation is releasing chalk messages written to prisoners into the wider world.
Hidden Truths: A Multimedia Art Exhibition
Hidden Truths: A Multimedia Art Exhibition created by an Artist Collective of Federally Incarcerated Women invites the public to view their collection of art works in the Community Gallery at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture
Hidden Truths will be installed at Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture, 10248 – 106 Street, from April 13, 2012 to May 12, 2012.
An opening reception will be held Friday April 13, 2012 7:00 pm –10:00 pm, with refreshments, dialogue with volunteers involved with coordinating Hidden Truths, community members, and a cash bar will be available.
Hidden Truths gratefully acknowledges funding from the Edmonton Arts Council (EAC) and support from Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture.
For more information please contact: Moyra Lang 780-953-9836 (moyra@ualberta.ca) or Tanya Driechel or Matt McCoy at 780-437-0061
EPL Book Borrowing Project
NOTE: Thanks, we now have enough volunteers for this project!
The EPL Book Borrowing Project is in dire need of more volunteers. We met to sort out the volunteer delivery schedule last night, and there are vacant slots that need to be filled.
Here’s a quick summary of the responsibilities of the volunteer:
- EPL book delivery occurs once a month (the third Wednesday of the month).
- The volunteer needs to pick up the book delivery at the Woodcroft Library, located at 13420 114 Avenue, and be at the EIFW from 6-8pm.
- The volunteer is also responsible for returning last month’s delivery to the Woodcroft Library upon leaving the EIFW at 8pm.
- The volunteer is responsible for electronically transcribing the women’s book requests and emailing that list to me within one week of the scheduled visit.
- Two volunteers are scheduled for each visit – typically, one person picks ups the delivery, and the other person returns the previous month’s delivery to the library.
- You will need a car.
The time commitment is quite small, and the reward of visiting with the women on book delivery day is pretty awesome – everybody is *very* excited to get their books.
The schedule has been made through 2012, and the following dates require an additional volunteer:
- May 16th
- July 18th (two volunteers needed)
- August 15th
- September 19th
- October 17th
- December 19th
If you are interested in volunteering for this project, please contact me right away. It is important that volunteers are able to commit to this project, so please only get in touch with me if you can absolutely commit to a certain date(s) – pending unplanned life stress, that is. J Feel free to ask any questions about this project as well – I am the EPL coordinator, so I hope I can answer any and all questions that come my way. I will do my best to make sure that new volunteers are paired with experienced volunteers.
Here’s hoping we can fill these slots – it would be devastating if this service had to be cancelled because we don’t have enough volunteers.
-Amanda