I have a fall project for my time with Prison Justice League!
I’m going to be researching LGBT treatment in prisons. I will spend time researching laws that are currently in place to defend these vulnerable populations from attack and hope to find some best practices that should be followed within Texas. I’ll be contacting PJL members, and hopefully recruited a few new ones, with a questionnaire to investigate their treatment by other prisoners, guards, and the justice system. After enough research is conducted and I’ve heard back from our members about what the outside world can do to best improve their daily lives. I want to compile and synthesize their responses, then create a presentation around what they think the best opportunities for growth are.
I’d love to use this information to help lobby state and federal representatives to make smart and just decisions for the people they represent. I am familiar with the Texas State Capitol building by now and would relish the opportunity to present my case to the congressional workers there.
A bigger goal would be to present my findings in the spring at the Prison Families conference. Even if I am not selected, I know that I’m doing good work and providing a voice to so many who are voiceless. Exactly what I hoped to do when I switched over into nonprofits.
I’m going to take phone calls and return contact with family and friends who need our help; doing intake interviews and performing a basic sort of triage to categorize their needs and how we can best work to serve them. I love talking with people and have usually been successful on the phone, so I see this as a great way to spend at least one day a week.
I also hope to learn a great deal about the behind the scenes administrative work and managerial side of the nonprofit sector. I hope to help alleviate some of the stress on our director by taking some of the smaller tasks from her shoulders, while also learning a great deal about what makes our group a success.
culturally unbalanced 