Group of panelists and attendees at SRLP co-led training for the Parole Preparation Project
On Thursday night, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Prisoner Justice Project was proud to join allies at the Correctional Association of New York, National Lawyers Guild’s Prison Law Project, and the Law Office of Rankin & Taylor in training members of the Parole Preparation Project on legal and non-legal support for people experiencing sexual and physical violence in New York State prisons.
The Prisoner Justice Project provided information on communicating with incarcerated people, gathering and preserving information surrounding the violence, using the grievance system, challenging solitary confinement that may result from violence, the rights given to people under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and how to advocate for those rights to be enforced. All of this is information the Prisoner Justice Project regularly shares with the over 100 incarcerated or detained people who write to us each moth seeking support and guidance.
The Parole Preparation Project is a project of the National Lawyers Guild’s Mass-Incarceration Committee that provides advocacy support to prepare people for their parole appearances. The year-to-date release rates for people appearing before the Parole Board is currently only 30% of people make their initial date to return home to the friends, communities, and loved ones. In 2015, only 22% of people ages 60 and up appearing before the Parole Board return home. The work of the Parole Preparation Project is vital in preparing individuals in how to put together a complete package of their eligibility and how to make the most of the – on average – 3-5 minutes they receive before the Board. To learn more about them you may email nlgnycppp [at] gmail.com
SRLP is always excited to provide our expertise and knowledge to attorneys, advocates, community members, and others. Our trainings focus on improving knowledge of and best practices towards supporting transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex people navigating the systems of government benefits, incarceration, immigration, and other systems of poverty, racism, and control. You can see our most popular trainings here and you can contact us at speaking [at] srlp.org with any questions.
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