The PrisonCare Podcast

We've been getting requests for Mental Wellness Resources, and we've been creating free articles to meet that need. But you might be surprised at the top asks! We were. People in prisons want to improve their own lives AND their neighborhoods, and it's reason for hope. PLUS: Learn about the new Loose Change Project! TIME MARKERS: TIME MARKERS: 1:25 Why Do They NEED Stuff Sent in fro...

Sabrina and Kym got to go all the way INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD at a prison concert and graduation ceremony for guys who participated in Mark and Tammy Collie's "My Song for Life" program! It was a LIFE-CHANGING  experience. This episode is full of all the feels, all the lame efforts to capture in words the hope that we found inside the razor wire in January 2023! TIME MARKERS: 1:25 Whi...

Episode 31 let you hear all the in-the-moment feels from Kym and Sabrina. This BONUS episode gives the narrative. Wanna hear each thing that happened -- including "The Bathroom Dance," the strip-search room, the Assistant Warden's welcome, and more? This is the episode for you! We wish we could have taken you each with us for this life-changing day. If you wish you could have come a...

Sabrina records in a hotel room while waiting to see if a collaborative program is actually going to happen the next day at a prison...because there has been ZERO communication from the facility. She explores the importance of good communication anywhere, and especially inside prisons, and (blame-free!) looks at why good communication is even MORE important in a prison than most anywhere else. Plu...

Sabrina and Kym get to start 2023 with hope and PUPPIES! Becky Hein, Puppy Program Manager for Canine Companions for Independence (canine.org) is our guest on this beautiful, inspiring episode that looks at the puppy training programs in prisons that pair incarcerated trainers with puppies that are being prepared for jobs as service dogs for people with disabilities. Time Markers: 2:30 Meet Becky!...

In the second part of this interview with Mary Buser, author of Lockdown on Rikers, and Director of Social Workers and Allies Against Solitary Confinement, Sabrina learns about why there are so many people with mental illnesses who are incarcerated, what mental health and medical professionals do and do not have to do as they provide care for the, and alternatives to the "hammer" approac...

Sabrina gets to talk with Mary Buser, Director of Social Workers and Allies Against Solitary Confinement, and former assistant director of mental health services at Rikers Island, the huge jail complex in New York City. She has a heart of gold, a depth of knowledge, and work experience that can teach us all SO much. While we avoid any shocking or triggering descriptions in both parts of this inter...

In this 2nd of a 2-part interview, Sabrina talks with Drs. Hattery and Smith -- Angie and Earl -- about solitary confinement and the study they did that led them to write Way Down in the Hole. Meet some of the folks whose stories they will never be able to forget. For more from Angie and Earl, visit: http://hatteryandsmith.com Time Markers: 4:15 Where Race Comes Into It 6:39 We’re ALL In Here Beca...

Sabrina gets to interview Drs. Angela Hattery and Earl Smith, professors of Sociology and authors of the new book, WAY DOWN IN THE HOLE. Learn about Solitary Confinement. Learn about its torturous impact on those held in those solitary cells, and on the Correctional Officers who work the unit.  Part 1 of 2. To purchase a copy of  Way Down in the Hole  visit https://smithandhattery.com/ Time Marker...

Sabrina digs into the "Us V. Them" mentality that rules prison neighborhoods, and considers the impact on Correctional Officers. What if...? Time Markers: 1:00 Upcoming Interview Episodes - sneak peek! 4:00 All the Differences 6:00 Naive, much?? 9:07 A Closer Look at COs 13:02 Surrounded 14:32 What about…? / What If…? 16:25 A Word We Don’t Often Use 19:10 Knocking the Legs Out From Under...

The first-ever PrisonCare Compassion Team started with a group of people at a little church called LifePath. But this was not a religious thing at all -- in fact, it was intentionally NOT religious -- so what DID characterize it? What do new friends, new good friends, for incarcerated people look like?  TIME MARKERS: (3:00) A story of true friends (4:45) Why we don’t solicit (5:30) The “90 Second...

Have you ever thought about the paramilitary structure of a U.S. prison? And what might be good about that for a vet -- or really, really bad for them? Sabrina explores the strong connection between those who have served in the military and those who can now be found in prison neighborhoods -- serving sentences, or serving as correctional officers.  Time Markers: 1:05 Challenges? What Challenges?...

Of course birthdays and anniversaries are hard for people who are incarcerated. But there are other anniversaries that are (perhaps unexpectedly) brutal for those serving prison sentences. Good news -- compassionate people on the outside can do something practical and EASY that will help. Join Sabrina for this personal AND practical episode. Time Markers: 1:45 The Power of Calendar Squares 2:40 No...

Receiving mail (like, actual MAIL, in an envelope, with a stamp, delivered by snails) is uniquely powerful inside the prison fence. Learn some of the reasons why mail MATTERS very much to inmate residents, and learn why mail from a STRANGER is actually extra-powerful.  Time Markers: 0:45 Mail Call! 2:40 Choice 4:10 What, Me? Vulnerable?? 6:00 Thinking of You 9:33 Tangible 12:00 Pen-Pal Encouragers...

Join Sabrina and her daughter, Bekah, for a chat about their recent visit to J in prison. Learn a bit about the process of visiting, and clear up some misconceptions that many of us have about visiting, and the way staff feel about visitors. Time Markers: 0:00 Welcome to our Hotel Room 3:25 Misconceptions 5:15 Tiny and Scared 7:50 What You Carry 8:27 Paperwork and Food 9:45 Underwire Bras and the...

All this talk about positive prison culture...what is that even supposed to mean?  Are we suggesting that everyone hug-a-thug? Nope. Not even close. Let's do a sociological/psychological/include a little common sense deep-dive into the concept of positive prison culture. Time Markers: (1:08) Culture Is… (2:26) A Complex Series of Customs (4:45) There Are Actually MORE Than Two People Groups H...

Have you ever thought about that icky feeling you get when you drive past a prison, and wondered how that might be effecting the way you look at correctional officers?  Or people who were formerly incarcerated? In this episode, we take a hard look at the five people groups inside a prison, and recognize how quick we are to forget about them, when they all need our support.  Time Markers: (1:00) No...

Who are these people? And how did they become the founders of PrisonCare, Inc.? And why should I give a hoot about their story? Commitment to change in society has more to do with personal connections than it does lofty ideas. Listen to Sabrina's story today, and you will never think about prison quite the same way again.  sabrinajustison.com to learn more about J's story and to read his...

Okay, so episode 1 has you intrigued. The Mission Statement for PrisonCare, Inc., was the heart of that Welcome episode, and now you want to better understand what we're suggesting compassionate people actually DO.  Using the idea of society's relationship with a hospital as opposed to its relationship with a prison, Sabrina Justison unpacks the big-picture need for a new understanding o...

Welcome to The PrisonCare Podcast! What IS PrisonCare.org, and who is likely to be interested in this podcast? PrisonCare, Inc. founder, Sabrina Justison, answers that and casts a vision for the kind of support EVERY prison needs, but almost none of us has ever considered it. (1:04) Introducing Sabrina and PrisonCare, Inc. (2:00) The PrisonCare distinctive (5:44) Goals and Objectives of PrisonCare...