CELL COUNT
pasan.org
P
By Philipe Poisson
Prisoners’ Justice Day! What is
it? Well, for starters, it’s not a Hol-
iday! It’s a day to mourn the loss
of our fellow Brothers and Sisters
who have died while in custody of
the Provincial and Federal Gov-
ernments.
Prisoners’ Justice Day was start-
ed in 1974 in Millhaven Institution,
which at the time also housed the
Special Handling Unit or S.H.U.
2 3 4-5
Bulletin
Board
FREE - FOR PRISONERS, EX-PRISONERS & THEIR FAMILIES
NERS JUSTICE
IRSO DA
(pronounced ‘shoe’). Millhaven
Institution was a very tough place
to survive, and not only for the
Inmates but also for the Correc-
tional Officers. But as most of you
already know, there are plenty of
other prisons with a ‘prison-from-
hell’ label, even now in 2017.
Although Prisoners ‘rights’ and
living conditions have improved
drastically since the 1970’s, we still
have a long way to go.
INSIDE THE SUMMER ISSUE
From
Inside
2017
On Prisoners’ Justice Day
(August 10th), every single Inmate
in Canada, whether in Provincial
or Federal, regardless of gender,
is supposed to do a few basic, but
extremely important things to
honour out of respect to those
Inmates who have passed away
while in custody. It doesn’t matter
whether they died by suicide, by
the hands of Correctional Offi-
cers, by a Turf War or by some
6 7
News on
Art
the Block
Y
other form of death. What does
matter is that they are no longer
here and that by dying in custody
they will never be FREE! Their
families and loved ones and friends
will never have peace of mind
when it comes to that person’s
death while in custody and know-
ing that they could not have done
a thing to prevent it.
On Prisoners’ Justice Day,
please, out of respect for all the
Health &
Harm
Reduction
SUMMER 2017 - ISSUE #81
"Nothin bout us
Without us
Is 4 us!"
Forgotten Warrior
Inmates who have died (and
remember – some Inmates died
for our rights!), please follow these
simple instructions: Don’t eat
for 24 hours. Don’t go to work.
Don’t go to school. Don’t go to
programs. Pray to God, if you
believe in one, to bless all our
fallen Comrades and their families
(or, if you can, Meditate!). Think
of ways to improve our Provincial
and Federal prisons!
8
Resources &
About PASAN
2 // bulletin board
If you want to see a worker or attend a program put in a request to the Volunteer Coordinator or the Social
Work Dept, or call us toll free at 1-866-224-9978
Provincial (ON) Men - CECC Groups/1on1: Sign up sheet; Request to Volunteer Coordinator; Call reduce our mailing expenses by let-
PASAN
CNCC Groups/1on1: Sign up sheet; Request to Volunteer Coordinator; Call ASAP! Thank you for the consider-
PASAN
HWDC Groups/1on1: monthly; Call PASAN
MAPLEHURST Groups/1on1: Run twice a month; Call PASAN
TEDC Groups/1on1: Run twice a month; Call for a program on your unit
or a 1on1 educational
TSDC Put a request in with the Volunteer Coordinator or call for a
program on your unit or a 1on1 educational
Provincial (ON) Women - CECC Call PASAN (no regular programming)
CNCC Call PASAN (no regular programming)
VCW 1st and 3rd Wed – 1on1 Request to Social Work or Healthcare and
call PASAN
Federal (ON) Men - We try to visit each prison at least 3 times a year. We visit: Bath, Beavercreek
Min/Med, Collins Bay, Joyceville Min/Med, Millhaven, Pittsburgh and Warkworth.
We see people individually or in group settings and talk about HIV/AIDS, Hep C,
Harm Reduction and Health Promotion. If you wish to know more or have HIV
please contact us to find out when we will be at your institution.
Federal (ON) Women - GVI once a month; request to health care and call PASAN
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS CALL PASAN TOLL FREE AT: 1-866-224-9978
HIV+ Client Services been a really important piece of Cell Count, and
that it has led to some amazing connections
In order to be a client & access these services
for our readers in the past. We really wish we
you need to have confirmed HIV+ status and
could continue it, but due to a lack of resources
be a prisoner or ex-prisoner (all times Eastern
it is no longer possible for us. We will continue
Standard time)
to keep a running list of alternative places you
• Phone Hours: Mon – Fri from 9-5, except
can send your ads and photos, although some
Tuesday mornings and lunch from 12pm-
come with a cost. We cannot personally vouch
1pm
for these options, so please use them at your
• Drop-in – Mondays 1:30-3:30 (except holi- own discretion:
days) Good food & 2 TTC tokens (for PASAN Canadian Inmates Connect: Currently, there is
members only) a $35/year subscription. Your ad will be placed
• Nurse – 1 & last Monday 1:30-3:30 every
st
on a website, and people with internet access
month browse through to decide who to connect with.
• ID Clinic – 1st & 3rd Thursday 1:00-2:00 every A point of caution: you are asked to say what
you have been convicted for, and your full
month - for everyone.
• Release Funds - $50 (twice a year max) name will be published online. Melissa is the
person to contact for more information. Write
• TTC Tokens – 2 per week Mon during drop-in
or call her at: Canadian Inmates Connect Inc.
1:30-3:30pm. 3007 Kingston Rd, Suite 267, Toronto, Ontario,
• Harm Reduction Materials – Mon – Fri from M1M 1P1 - (647) 344-3404
9-5 (12-1pm we are closed), except Tuesday Black and Pink: Specifically for queer and trans
AM (Safer-Crack-Use-Kits, Safer-Needle-Use- prisoners. They are based in the United States,
Kits, Piercing Needles, Condoms, etc.) - for it does not cost anything to be part of the list,
everyone. and you don't have to tell them your convic-
Sometimes we and the phones are very busy so tion. Here is how to reach them: Black and Pink
please keep trying! National Office, 614 Columbia Rd, Dorchester,
MA 02125
About Cell Count 617.519.4387
PASAN publishes ‘Cell Count’, a minimum of 4 Prison Fellowship Canada: This is a faith-
based, Christian organization that connects
issues per year. It is sent out for FREE to Clients
& Prisoners in Canada. If you are on the out- prisoners with volunteers of either the same
gender, or where there is a 15-20 year age
side or part of an organization, please consider
a donation @ $20 per year. We are proud to difference. The point is for you to have an
outlet to express yourself to someone who will
release our 80th issue to you. We are also
grateful for all the wonderful feedback we have listen. If you are of the Christian faith, this may
been receiving from our readers, and encour- be a great option for you. You can reach them
age you to keep putting your two cents in. Our for more info at: Prison Fellowship Canada -
goal is to have most of our content written and National Office, 5945 Airport Road, Suite 144,
produced by prisoners and ex-prisoners, so we Mississauga, ON L4V 1R9
highly encourage you to get in touch with us if 905.673.5867
you're interested in being part of the Cell Count Prisoner Correspondence Project: "..a sol-
team. idarity project for gay, lesbian, transsexual,
Publisher: PASAN transgender, gendervariant, two-spirit, intersex,
526 Richmond St E, Toronto, ON M5A 1R3 bisexual and queer prisoners in Canada and the
Circulation: 400+ - Recirculation: ??? United States, linking them with people who are
part of these same communities outside of pris-
All original artwork, poems and writings are the
on." - From their website. Write to them here:
sole/soul property of the artist and author.
QPIRG Concordia c/o Concordia University
Fair Dealing in the Canadian Copyright Act: 1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, QC H3G
1M8
Sections 29, 29.1, 29.2: “Fair dealing for the
purpose of research, private study, education, Inmate Ink: "Help us bring Hope to a prisoner
parody, satire, criticism, review, and news re- one letter at a time. Offers memberships from
porting does not infringe copyright.” $20 - $40. Your completed ad will be published
on our website for anyone in the general public
A Note about Pen Pals: to view and contact you directly. For an appli-
cation or more info, please contact Tasha Brown
We've received a lot of calls and letters asking at: P.O. Box 53222 Marlborough CRO, Calgary
about Pen Pals, and it's been difficult delivering AB. T2A 7L9 or www.InmateInk.ca"
the sad news that we no longer have the ca- If you have had success using a pen pal service
pacity or funds to run it anymore. We know it's (other than ours) and would like to share it with
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
other Cell Count subscribers, please
write to us or call. We can list it in a
future issue.
Moving?
We were getting about 75 Cell
Counts sent back to us each mail-out
labelled, ‘Not Here’. Please help us
ting us know of any address change,
ation.
Workload
PASAN has been around for 25 years
now and over the years our client
population has increased dramati-
cally. As a result of this increase in
workload, clients may not be able to
spend as much time on the telephone
with staff as we would like. The staff
and volunteers are dedicated and
committed and will continue to pro-
vide the best care possible. Thanks for
your patience and understanding!
Calling all artists, writers (fic-
tion, non-fiction, short stories,
etc), illustrators, cartoonists,
poets, journalists (aspiring or
otherwise), and other creative
types:
We want your submissions! We get
lots of letters from our readers telling
us how much they love seeing all
your work and they’re hungry for more. Send
us your stuff and get published in Cell Count.
When you send us stuff, please make sure you
write a line in that gives us permission to pub-
lish your work. Also, let us know if you would
like your work returned to you or sent on to
someone else!
Writers: We get a lot of great work sent in that
we are unable to use because of very limited
space. Apologies. Please consider the column
width & keep articles/poems tight & to the
point. Honestly, the first items to go in are the
ones that fit nicely and leave space for others
– quality and quantity! Also, let us know in
writing if it’s ok to edit your work for grammar,
spelling and so we can fit it in.
We're especially looking for submissions
from women-identified folks! Women are the
fastest-growing prisoner population in Canada,
but often their experiences are marginalized
in conversations about the prison system. We
want to hear your take on prison, life, family,
or anything else you're interested in writing
about. We can guarantee confidentiality, and
can publish your pieces under a pseudonym if
you want! Please submit your articles, poetry,
art, or letters to the Cell Count editor at 526
Richmond St E, Toronto, ON M5A 1R3 - in the
meantime, check out Concrete Blossoms on
page 5.
Prison Tweets
Jeff Craig sent in a great idea for a new sec-
tion of Cell Count: Prison Tweets. Mail us or call
us with a 40 word "tweet" - or short sentence,
and we'll print it in Cell Count!
A "tweet" could be a shout out, quote, piece
of wisdom, thought, update, a super short
poem, or anything else you can come up with!
This might be a great alternative if you don't
want to write a poem or entire article. We look
forward to seeing what you come up with!
Drop-in
PASAN Clients
Mondays 1:30-3:30pm
See you then!
Contact Numbers
If you are in any Federal/Provincial Inst or
Detention call us only with this #: Toll-free
1-866-224-9978
Nurse
A Nurse for PASAN members!
On the 1st & last Monday of every month, 1:30
– 3:30
• Information and schedules regarding:
o Medications
o Nutrition
o Community Health Resources
o HIV understanding
o Complications to HIV (eg Opportunistic
Infections)
• Assessments of emerging health issues
• Management of existing medical conditions
or follow up(s)
• Communication with community! Institution-
al health care providers for access
• To clarify or communicate health information
and to advocate for health service provisions
• Communicating findings and follow up plans
and accountabilities with PHAs and PASAN
primary workers (or delegates)
Please sign up at front desk
ID Clinic
The Partners for Access and Identification
(PAID) project opens doors and breaks down
barriers for individuals who do not have a fixed
or permanent address.
The ID Clinics are held at PASAN on the 1st & 3rd
Thursday of each month, 1:00-2:00pm
The project operates at various sites across the
city of Toronto. The PAID project also connects
individuals and families to other services, such
as:
+ Primary health care facilities
+ Sources for housing
+ Sources for food
+ Legal Aid
We also provide guidance and awareness
regarding other programs that are available,
including community-based support services.
For more information, please call: Neighbour-
hood Link Support Services at 416-691-7407.
Also at the Toronto South D.C. Put in a request
to see them.
Prison Radio
KINGSTON AREA - CFRC Prison Radio airs
every Wednesday evening from 7-8pm on 101.9
FM. CFRC is the Queen's University communi-
ty radio station and every last Wednesday of
the month. CFRC can be heard from Millhaven
Institution, Collins Bay Institution, Joyceville In-
stitution, Bath Institution, Frontenac Institution,
Pittsburgh Institution, and Quinte Detention
Centre.
MONTREAL AREA – CKUT Prison Radio airs
on 90.3 FM on the second Thursday of every
month between 5-6 pm as part of the Off the
Hour show and on the fourth Friday of every
month between 11am and 12pm. It can be
heard from Bordeaux, Rivière-des-Prairies,
Centre de formation fédéral, Leclerc, Montée
St-Francois, Centre de détention pour les immi-
grants, Archambault, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines,
and Cowansville institutions.
VANCOUVER AREA – Stark Raven Collective
runs the CFRO Prison Radio show on 100.5 FM
as part of Vancouver Co-operative Radio. It
broadcasts on the first Monday of each month
from 7-8 pm Pacific Time
HALIFAX AREA - Dalhousie University's CKDU
at 88.1 FM. Listen or call in for poetry and rap
on the Black Power Hour, which airs Wednes-
days from 1:30-2:30pm , and is co-hosted by
former Halifax poet laureate El Jones. The show
focuses on social and cultural issues relevant to
Black communities, but is open all listeners.
Saying Hello
Les Harper, PASAN’s Aboriginal Program Coor-
dinator, is from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, North-
ern Alberta. Les has forged a life long commit-
ment to serving communities from an Aboriginal
cultural perspective, bringing traditional lifeways
and healing practices to an urban environment,
and the communities that live there. He grew up
in downtown Toronto, embraced by his culture
and ceremonies, a rare occurrence for the time
and place. Living a traditional path at a time when
it was almost lost to assimilation, he understands
cont'd on page 7
3 // from inside
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
feel – a kiss upon my cheek. Like there’s no ifs, ands or buts The pouring rain while Back to the Pen I go
Whence We're Free Mike Tomasik You can argue and cuss Each thought resonating With my only pals Curly, Larry & Moe
The day is coming But they’ll throw you in cuffs In my brain drove They may not let me out this time
"Essence" Me insane. When
Yes I know… If you raise your voice up In Seg I sit with nothin’ left writin’ this
When our captors The essence of a person can be the Saying this is unjust I hit rock bottom Rhyme
Will let us go. most important feature and quality They’ll tell you to hush I was in shock Kevin Kohl
We’ll live our lives radiating outward. In a constant search Or your time will be rough That’s when the
To the best you see… for a harmonious union with another. It They huff and they puff Lord came into Untitled
Filled with cheer begins as a feeling from within. During a Trying to act really tough My heart and now On any given day in prizon
And awesome glee. stillness in the body, and the quieting of Say you’re causing a fuss I have a new start. Everything can happen to everyone
Sun-filled heavens the mind. This feeling gradually grows Then come on in a rush Larry Dillabough You see it’s a cold world in these wallz
Will shine it’s Light. into a soft song. It’s delicate vibrations In seg you get stuffed Tick-Tock With even colder hearts.
Everything we do, awaken the soul from a deep slumber, In a hole you get stuck Ones that have been broken or bruised
We’ll do with God’s might. and every melodic note escapes, to be Ya, 10 on 1 they be tough Tick-tock, tick-tock Or the deeper more darker souls
We’ll spread His work heard and to be felt. The essence yearns But we all know what’s up Awaiting the hands on the clock That have been lost to the G Code
And his love abound. for companionship, to be wanted by We all know what’s what Waiting for them to turn the locks I myself have been lost
With joyful hearts an equally compatible being, a desire We’ve all learned to adjust You try to turn your thoughts Now I am found wanting
And mind so sound. to exist as a single, love-filled entity. Knowing there’s no justice From the four walls and a cot My freedom, wanting a life
All the peace that one A person’s essence also possesses an ‘Cause the system’s unjust Back to balling on the block And most of all to be done
Could imagine. ability to express itself through physical So real justice comes from us Recall how you were calling shots With this prizon life
It’ll be ours… subtleties, attempting to portray its true Anthony George And the type of life it brought Grizzly Bear
In heart felt passion desires. The moment a person’s essence All the ice you bought
feels the marriage of energy with Untitled The price that it cost Concrete Code
So remember for as long
As need be another, the physical subtleties are set in People come, people go, time crawls on The sacrifice, and loss Just another love gone cold
The thing you want most… motion. Sometimes pupils dilate, instan- Why did I do that crime… To me it was Once, or twice you lost To the concrete code
Whence we’re Free taneously sensing an attraction, the cor- Part of God’s plan to shape and mold But you tossed the dice a lot Another soul lost, to hellz fires
Brian G. Kerr ners of the mouth turn up anticipating me into Muscled in on the spot Another demon born on earth
a smile. Both the heartbeat and breath A better man. My heart, once bitter and Tussled and fought
(Oh but) The Errors quicken at the smallest touch on the cold You hustled to the top
Feed the anger, feed the rage
Feel the power, feel the pain
Corrections isn’t a service skin. The invisible essence flows without Has slowly turned warm, truly some- Hustling on the block When you’re at your breaking point
They don’t make mistakes impediment, welcoming the embrace of thing to behold. Chop-chop-chop Know you will fall from Grace
Oh it’s definitely rehab the other, and become partners on the Here in the dark I see a light, this I Trying to sweeten the pot Don’t let the love go cold
But NO Not rehabilitates eternal dance floor. To resist the essence know While defeating the cops Don’t break the Concrete Code
Correct me if I’m wrong goes against the primal nature of its Is a worthy fight… I may not be a You were beating the odds Grizzly Bear
Oh but I’m Not purpose. A person’s essence needs to be shining Now it’s tick-tock, tick-tock
No this theory’s correct shared, needs to be nurtured, and needs Star but at least I’m no longer drunk Awaiting the hands on the clock
Now rehabilitate the thought to be allowed to flourish. The essence sitting at some bar. Awaiting another shot Untitled
Undertrained minions has been around since the dawn of time, Larry-James Waiting for them to turn the locks Far away across Canada,
Pretending they have powers its existence undying, the essence from Waiting to be let out of a box
within, listen to it, and trust it. Through Fragile Things You’re awaiting a lot
In my prizon yard,
Only power they possess Caught up in the prizon hustle.
Is counting wasted hours the essence, life is worth living. Eyes look ‘round behind me Patiently waiting out the sentence you’ve That’s been in my veins since young
They’re paid too much Mike Tomasik Robin’s egg falling gently caught How to say goodbye to the lifestyle
They whine even more Pauses and Spins, slowly round Anthony George
Dream But it’s the only way, home to my child.
They hold the key Waiting for eyes to blink Unititled My little girl, misses her real father
To the revolving door I dream of you as my friend, A reflection in the glass Only way out is to stay Real
We do Not respect I dream of you as my girl, All mankind looks back, I pause I always thought love would To stay strong and resist the hustle.
The disrespected meted I dream of you at night, Seeing my egg shell skin Come with flashing lights I choose to give up my lifestyle
We’d fix Ourselves As beautiful as a pearl. Waiting for time to crack And a trumpet’s blair To come home to my family
But they don’t let it When I wake up in the morning, Shards fall slowly to ground But much as a serenade No more hustle, no more games
For if We gave up There’s a big smile on my face, Broken images spinning sharply Or a breath or springtime air Play time is over
The Crime We’d rob Because I had a dream, Seven more years of luck Your love has entered Grizzly Bear
The great pretenders Of you at my place. So long ago, time is fragile My heart
Of their worthless job But now that dream is over, Earth from space is a marble And ever so gently Ball and Chain
As time goes on And you can even ask a sleuth, Balance with care on a pin Whispers there This is a trip, a trap
Corrections do fail That I love you as a friend, Spinning ‘round before me I'm only allowed the tops of tall trees in I must’ve slipped, they’ve stacked
And the cry for help And that’s the absolute truth! Filled with fragile things the far distance. No grass, no shrubs, no The odds against me
Is to No avail Moe Sleiman Wake from this dream and see greenery, only concrete. Steel and hard Now I’m walkin in these halls, so empty
Forever… Futures scattered ‘cross the floor plaster as I only get hard time, one day
Life at a time!
My voice echoes off these walls of
Larry Cardinal Trying not to step on them memory
Being in jail is lonely at night. You know, they break so easy Wayne Yates
A Gentle Breeze It’s waiting for letters that no one will Kris Olson
No visits have called
Untitled No letters they’ve sent me
The next time you feel a gentle breeze write
It’s depending on people you thought You're Always on my Mind I don’t know whether
My only wish is to call
caress your cheek, know that it began as Home… Alone in this cell
A whisper of your name escaping from were your friends Sitting in my cell thinking of you is all Laws be right They’ve gone and left me
my lips. When they fail to come through again That I’ll tell, I feel like someone or Or whether laws I’m suspicious of, and vicious to all
The sound of my voice drifting through and again. Something has released my curse that Be wrong A family, a wife, a wonderful life
the air, dancing on the silky green It’s sitting around with nothing to do, Has me living a life alone, It’s you All I know is he who be in jail It’s all so tempting
Surfaces of leaves, bouncing from tree Trying to figure out just who is who That has found me, forever she wants The wall be strong All so fake, all so pretending
to tree, being swept away with Mother It’s finding out that hearts are made of Me, I pray she never dumps me. And that each day Feelings of love, replaced with hate,
Nature’s current. Stone and realizing you’re all alone. It didn’t take much for me to decide Is like a year and pain
Your name soaring high above the It’s waiting for visits that never take That she is the one I forever want by A year whose days are long Evil thoughts of someone I love so
clouds, competing and fighting against place, My side, with arms open wide my love Wayne Yates much
the From so-called friends who’ve forgotten For her I’ll never hide. As these words
your face. Lady H Thought of so much, I hate the pain
Onslaught of sounds. blend, Salt on the wounds, I take the grain
Sounds of love, sounds of hatred, It’s wondering why time seems to Jesus Christ will always be my best No sleep 4 dayz Insults my name, I take it in vain
sounds of joy and sounds of sorrow. Move so slow and every dream you friend. Up runnin all damn nite, haven’t eaten Will this ease, or halt?
Millions of sounds travelling in an Have, has no place to go. I wear my heart on my sleeve for Got blood runnin down the arm Who is to fault?
infinite number of directions. Therefore, I will do my time with my everyone Come on lady H Doesn’t matter so much, it’s all in the
I only care about one. head To see, but it’s yours for keeps, to the You won’t want me walkin free same
The one that triumphs over all odds and Held high and keep my integrity and End of time you’ll always be on my Now would you? Cuz I wasn’t calling to blame
travels safely to you. pride mind… You-n-me, we got lotz of hate left eh! But I guess this is gone as quick as it
The breeze caresses your cheek and you Until the day I die. Can’t go wastin it by slippin off into the came
stop to smile. The day will come when I am free, then Jay Bevan spirit Poof… The truth, imprisoned with a
You know in that moment, this brief It will be my turn to forget those who World now can we, gotta lotta pain yet ball, and chain
kiss was sent by me and was only meant Forgot me. Salvaged and Freed to taste Matt Hermes aka Uncle Mac
For you. By Rob Johnson Each day passes Forgotten Warrior
Excitement fills your body, with your Slow like dripping Submit Work to 'From Inside'
No Justice There & Gone
next several steps feeling like you are Molasses… I’m done There are so many emotional, intel-
Walking on clouds. They say trust us With kicking asses. It was luv at first sniff lectual, psychological, and therapeutic
It wells up inside, a feeling, a thought. They’ll give us justice Some tough lessons Like an MC with a golden riff benefits to writing poetry. Just try
Your lips part with the softest sound There’s just us I’ve learned some Playin’ football & datin’ cheerleaders jotting down whatever words come
escaping. ‘Cause the system’s unjust Strong bridges I’ve Runnin’ from the cops and their Crown to you on paper and see what comes
You look upwards in the sky and say Built up just enough Burned. I have a Vic speeders out. You might surprise yourself. And
one word…..My name. To keep people in cuffs Reputation I have earned Got caught picked up a pen bitt then submit your masterpiece to us for
It begins the long journey back through It’s hard to tell what’s, what Not a lot of good Sorry babe, Holy Shit printing in a future issue of Cell Count!
the web of sounds, until one day, I feel When they’re telling you stuff But not all bad. I’ve I’m losing too much I gotta quit 526 Richmond St E, Toronto, ON,
A gentle breeze and know that it’s you I That don’t agree with your gut Walked for hours in I can’t stop it gimme another fit M5A 1R3
4 // news on the block
Imagining on August 10th
By Larry Cardinal
Imagine living in a country where food
is used as a punishment tool, and water
too – and bedding and clothing if
you’re freezing cold at night, or fresh air
in the summer. Imagine being jumped
– over and over, being sprayed and shot
at, being tortured, groped aggressively,
taunted, and constantly ridiculed, bad-
gered and threatened. Being slander-
ized, discriminated against, and starved.
Imagine being told to kill yourself. Not
being able to shower, having to wear
handcuffs behind your back to leave
your cell. Hearing nurses joke about you
with the abusers. Imagine the abusers
are getting paid top dollar to do the
opposite of what they’re getting paid
to do. Imagine this is all happening
in Canada. Imagine Canada was so
blind, they couldn’t see the crime rate
was getting worse and not better. And
Correctional Services was not correct-
ing, only punishing – no rehabilitation,
no incentive, no changing for the better.
Imagine on August 10th, it was easy to
go a day without food, because you
just went five days without the week
before. Imagine trying to comprehend
why they were getting paid so much to
Growing
old in
prison
By Kurt Schmidt
I have been in for over 24 years. It has
been too long. I have lost all my family.
My mother was still alive before my
sentence, and so much time has passed
that she’s passed away. All of my aunts,
uncles and distant relatives have passed
away too. I was 49 when I came to pris-
on and now I am 72. I am an old man
in my last few years of life. I’ve never
had any major charges or disciplinary
action in prison. For 24 years, I have
always had a job and worked every day
tirelessly. I received good reports from
my workplace manager at the kitchen.
I have finished all my programs. I have
done everything I possibly can and yet I
am still unable to cascade to a minimum
institution. I feel I have done too much
unnecessary time. It’s very emotional
for me knowing everyone I knew on
the inside has died. I have lost my entire
family. The unnecessary length to keep
me in prison is taking a toll on my phys-
ical and mental health. I have learned
my lesson and gained much knowledge
and skills from my programs. I am
so old that I can hardly take care of
myself, my health is failing. And for the
life of me, I am not a threat to anyone
else, let alone my own efforts to care
for myself. I really hope to be able to
get out of prison and live my last days
out in the community and have a little
more freedom. I greatly regret and
am remorseful for my offence, and I
believe I can do more good for society
outside of prison than continue to be
incarcerated. I work every day at the
kitchen; I finished all my programs, I
have completed my correctional plan; I
am very remorseful and I don’t want to
reoffend; I don’t see any reason to keep
me in prison any longer. Keeping me in
prison doesn’t help me or society.
tell you to kill yourself, to starve you,
and beat you, torture you, freeze you,
suffocate you, spray you – more or less
to break the laws, and so how do you
learn exactly to become law abiding,
when the so-called teachers don’t
abide the law themselves. Imagine a
system designed to fail, where your
wellbeing and sanity are the sacrifices
made to appease a government and it’s
vote-driven politicians. Imagine only
one of those politicians took the time
to realize that public servants are mak-
ing Canada worse by torturing, berating,
starving, ridiculing, spraying, belittling
and threatening the ones they were sup-
posed to make better. That would be a
great day. If you can imagine all of the
abuse mentioned, you can picture Can-
ada’s prisons, I imagine. Why is all the
fuss always about overseas. Why not
worry about your own backyard, that’s
where all these psychos are living and
I’m not just talking about the guards.
Oh, one more thing, imagine if they ac-
tually did their job… and followed their
objectives and requirements. Imagine
they didn’t think they were above the
law, above reproach.. One day.. One day
soon… I imagine.
No one
is above
the law
By Terrance Naistus
I am a ‘Long-Term Supervision Order’
(LTSD) designate, and there’s some
very serious concerns regarding section
135.1 of the Corrections and Condi-
tional Release Act (CCRA). The LTSD
legislation isn’t entirely inconsistent
with the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. However, in my case,
my rights under s.7, s.9, s.10, s.11, s.12,
s.15(1), s.24(1)(2), s.35(1) of the Charter
were so unceremoniously trampled on
and violated. Thus, exposing certain
elements within section 135.1 of the
CCRA’s legal framework, which are evi-
dently, inconsistent with the ‘Charter’.
My LTSD was suspended, and an
apprehension arrest warrant was issued
for an alleged LTSD breach. The un-
founded allegations had no supporting
evidence to charge or convict me of
any criminal wrong-doing, and without
Criminal Code charges or conviction,
my A4D report states, I have clearly
breached. A minimum mandatory
sentence of 90 days was wrongfully
imposed on me. “No one’s above the
law!” Case law: Roncarelli v. Duplessis,
[1959] S.C.R. 121, is the basis of my
case.
Section 135.1 of the CCRA is in dire
need of reform/amendment, and as
such, the status quo enables systematic
attach/systematic discrimination to
undermine the ‘Rule of Law’. Case law:
Re Section 94(2) of the Motor Vehicle
Act of B.C. [1985] 2 SCR 486, supports
the legal argument, Section 135.1 of
the CCRA is in violation of 8 individual
sections of the ‘Charter’, which is in
breach of the principles of fundamen-
tal justice, and as such, violations of s.7.
Why are we inside?
By Nick Paccione
Perusing through past issues of Cell
Count, I happened upon the words
of Carol, Executive Director of a
book-club program for prisoners. “All
these guys are in prison…because of
how they were raised,” Carol remarks,
adding that the book club teaches
prisoners to get the “community value
that they need.” Carol is quite evidently
a compassionate humanist who sees
prisoners not as inherently evil but as
products of their environment and
capable of positive change if provided
with the resources and opportunities
that they lack growing up. We prison-
ers need more well-meaning folk like
Carol. However, I think it’s important
to examine Carol’s reasoning as to why
prisoners are locked up.
Carol, I think it’s safe to assume,
subscribes to the theory held by our so-
cially progressive “allies” that see crime
as stemming largely from poverty and
other forms of impoverishment. And
when it comes to lower-class or “street”
crime, they’re right. But what about
corporate crime? What about corporate
criminals? How do they fit within this
perspective? The short answer is that
they don’t.
Corporate crime, like its lower-class
counterpart, involves theft and harmful
Tide Turning on Use of Solitary
By Victor Bruzzone
The tide seems to be turning when
it comes to solitary confinement in
Canada. Since we last reported, there
have been continuing developments. As
mentioned in our last story, the United
Nations Committee Against Torture
has stated that when solitary confine-
ment (called ‘administrative segregation’
by Canadian corrections) is used for
more than 15 consecutive days, it is
torture1.
Back in November of 2016, amidst
fallout related to the extended segre-
gation of Adam Capay, former federal
prison ombudsman Howard Sapers
was appointed independent advisor
to Ontario’s prison system and was
tasked with reviewing Ontario’s use of
segregation. In March 2017 his report
was released and his findings were
significant. Sapers’ noted that many
measures designed to reduce the use
of segregation had failed, with rates of
segregation in Ontario steadily rising
over the past few years.
According to Sapers’ report,
increased use of segregation can be
attributed to “inadequate legislation,
poorly crafted policies, lack of staff re-
sources, insufficient training, crumbling
physical infrastructure or simply a lack
of space, the result is the same: segre-
gation has become the multi-purpose
default to respond to diverse correc-
tional challenges2”.
Among over 60 recommendations,
Sapers argued, “Segregation should
be banned for mentally ill or suicidal
prisoners, pregnant inmates or those
1 United Nations News Service. (2011,
October 18). Solitary confinement
should be banned in most cases, UN
expert says.
2 White, P. (2017a, May 4). Ontario vows
to act on solitary confinement limits in
new report. The Globe and Mail.
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
activity. Most people don’t realize,
however, that, directly or indirectly, the
public loses far more money and incurs
far greater harm and even death as a
result of the very common occurrence
of corporate crimes – such as fraud,
overcharging, financial manipulation,
faulty design products and equipment,
environmental pollution and violations
of health and safety laws – than as
result of being robbed or physically
attacked by a street criminal.
Yet, in the public’s collective mind,
“crime” equals “street crime” and the
common image of the criminal is that
of the lower-class individual, not of
the corporate executive. This common
image would surely change if prisons
were to fill up with the most pervasive
and pernicious of criminal offenders –
the corporate criminal.
But that won’t happen, for here’s the
basic truth: behind the myth of equality
before the law stands the entrenched
relations of power and privilege as em-
bodied in the racist, classist, patriarchal
state and its corporate benefactors. It
is this, the inequality before the law and
the attendant substantial bias that exists
in its content and in its reinforcement,
not our upbringing or a lack of com-
munity values, that explains why prison
who are new mothers or in need of
health care3”. Echoing the UN decla-
ration, Sapers also recommended that
segregation not be used for more than
15 consecutive days, and no more than
60 total days per one-year period.
As noted in Sapers’ report, one of
the main reasons segregation has been
so widely used in prisons and jails is the
lack of sufficient resources, including
overcrowding and lack of mental health
tools. Addressing this lack of resourc-
es is expected to require a significant
financial investment. In a move that
surprised even Sapers, the Government
of Ontario responded to the report
with funding “to replace the Thunder
Bay Jail, where Mr. Capay was held, and
Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre”4.
Since Sapers’ report, the federal
government met with provincial leaders
to discuss drafting new national guide-
lines for the use of segregation. The
discussion comes amidst the internal
reviews of solitary confinement practic-
es in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan,
and British Colombia5. In June of this
year Bill C-56 was tabled in House of
Commons that proposes to make the
15-day limit on solitary confinement
federal law6.
In related news, the federal govern-
ment is currently facing constitutional
challenges on the legality solitary con-
3 Rushowy, K. (2017, May 4). Restrict use
of solitary confinement for mentally ill
prisoners, independent reviewer says. The
Toronto Star.
4 White, P. (2017a, May 4). Ontario vows
to act on solitary confinement limits in
new report. The Globe and Mail.
5 White, P. (2017b, June 6). Amid pressure,
officials draft national solitary confinement
strategy. The Globe and Mail.
6 Hampshire, G. (2017, June 28). Solitary
confinement under scrutiny as Ottawa
moves to limit use of controversial practice.
is deemed an acceptable and even a
means to excuse our actions or to dare
minimize the terrible harm and suffer-
ing many of us have caused – that truly
explains why we prisoners are inside.
Of course poverty and a shitty upbring-
ing contribute largely to street crime,
and of course we prisoners need all the
help and healing and “Carols” that we
can get, but until there is a fundamental
change in the way society is structured
to oppress, control, and discriminate
against the very scapegoats that it has
helped to create in the first place – the
poor, people of colour, the alienat-
ed, the ghettoized, the addicted, the
scary, the abnormal, the despised, the
psychologically bruised and battered,
the “unfit” or “damaged” mothers
and daughters – then the likelihood of
having a criminal “label” and of being
locked up in a “corrections” system
that not only fails to correct but which
actively makes it extremely difficult for
correction to occur, will continue to
increase as one’s social status decreases,
and crime will remain associated with
poverty or a lack of community values
and will continue to be disconnected
from the greed, exploitation, and power
of the corporate state and its cronies.
-
finement. In 2015 the Canadian Civil
Rights Association (CCLA) submitted
a Charter of Rights challenge against
the federal use of segregation. In late
June of this year, the federal govern-
ment responded by arguing that legal
proceedings should be delayed until
Bill C-56 passes to avoid debating “an
existing statutory scheme that’s likely to
be replaced by a very different one7”.
The courts disagreed arguing that “the
amendments in the bill do not address
the concerns raised in the lawsuit and
therefore rejected the government’s
request”8. Issues not addressed by the
new law include mental health and
overcrowding issues.
As developments continue, the tide
certainly appears to be turning in the
right direction, and we hope this is the
beginning of the end of segregation in
Canadian prisons.
Responses to our
story on Solitary
Since our last story people have
been writing in and generously sharing
their experiences with segregation.
We were surprised by the size of the
response and on the following page are
some of the letters we have received
from our readers.
We encourage you to keep writing
about your experiences, because the
more the general public come to know
about how prisoners are being treated,
the bigger the public outcry, and the
more the tide seems to be turning.
Keep up the courageous sharing!
7 Woo, A. (2017, June 23). Government
seeks to adjourn solitary-confinement law-
suit until Bill C-56 is finalized. The Globe
and Mail.
8 Katawazi, M. (2017, July 6). Ottawa fails
in bid to delay Ontario solitary confine-
ment lawsuit. The Globe and Mail.
5 // news on the block
Segregation
By Rob Johnson
I am currently being housed in
[institution name removed to protect
identity of writer and to ensure
publication is allowed in to subscrib-
ers here] segregation. It is at this
time the worst it has ever been. Your
rights are constantly being violated.
If you’re lucky, you will get yard or
showers twice a week. Due to lack
of staff. There are also no programs
available. They are housing three to a
cell on a regular basis. Inmates sleep-
ing and eating by the toilets. Inmates
with mental health issues are placed
together in cells, where they end up
yelling, banging, and screaming 24/7.
There are poorly maintained
phones with hardly no access to
call loved ones as you can only call
collect to land line phones. There is
very little to no cleaning products.
Food, toilet brushes and plungers are
put through the same hatch. There
are random searches sometimes twice
weekly and they are very destructive
with your personal belongings. You
can’t flush your toilet which are not
stickered and regulated according to
biohazard laws. There are no regular
bedding changes.
Mental health prisoners are not
given proper meds. It’s hard to get ra-
zors. Fire alarms are being set off by
inmates regularly at all hours. I sup-
port the class action lawsuit against
Ontario for failure to properly staff
its correctional institutions which
has caused and continue to cause
physical and psychological damage to
inmates across the province.
These are some of the many issues
we face at this [institution].
In Seg in NDC
By Kevin Kohl
Since my arrest on September 15th,
2015 I have spent the majority of
those 21 months in Solitary Confine-
ment. After spending over 9 months
straight in solitary, they transferred me
to Stratford jail. I wondered why all
the care and concern for my mental
health? And then I read about Adam
Capay. Unfortunately, I was put in seg
in Stratford. That was the worst. Their
seg cells are like being locked in a 100
year old tomb. They’re extremely small:
7 by 3 feet with an arched entrance
and a ceiling that gives it that crypt
effect. Also there are not beds, blankets
nor mattresses. You’re forced to sleep
on a security mattress that’s a couple
centimeters thick on the cold concrete
floor. To add insult to injury, there are
no sinks or toilets in the cell. You have
to bang on the door or wait for one of
their clock rounds before you’re let out
briefly to go to the washroom. Heaven
forbid you anger one of them, then
they’ll make you wait until they feel like
it. I had to bash my head off the cell
door until I drew blood before they’d
ship me to Brantford. Where some
of their seg cells are called “singles”.
They’re right out in the corridor so you
get a lot of people walking by. Not as
good as TV, but at least it’s something.
And Brantford, like Stratford, has great
food. But Brantford has better “jug
up” snacks. I’m talking like butter tarts
every Wednesday, ice cream on Fridays,
peanut butter and jam on Saturdays.
Brantford also has a terrific Native
Institution Liaison Officer named Kelly
Curly. Every Wednesday, he is faithfully
out in the rec yard offering smudging
and humbling counseling. A miscom-
municated call with the Ombudsman
landed me on Suicide Watch. I was
taken out of “singles” and put in their
3 celled dungeon area. With the gothic
architecture that was popular a century
ago, these cells are tomb-like as well.
They had arched ceilings like Strat-
ford, but at least my 2 centimeter thick
security mattress was off the floor in a
metal frame and I could flush my own
toilet. Since I was Niagara Detentions
Centre’s problem, I was shipped back to
Thorold. My hometown bucket, Home
Sweet Home. Thankfully, I had a pal
running a dorm and I got to live the
dorm life for four months. And now
I am back on administrative seg and I
have to ask a guard to flush my toilet.
They had to pepper spray me, again, to
get me to come to seg. I swear I have
PTSD from all the seg time. When I
was in the dorm, I asked repeatedly to
be transferred to St. Lawrence Valley.
I have a brain injury from a football
accident, a vein broke in my head. So I
suffer from migraines and depression.
I also have word retrieval difficulties
and I have difficulty making decisions
at times. And now I am in solitary
confinement again. I have at least 14 or
15 months in seg so far and counting.
My lawyer says I won’t be sentenced
until the end of the year. I wish they
would have sent me for treatment, so
I wouldn’t have been pepper sprayed
twice. What’s crazy is I’m looking
forward to going back to the Federal
system, but from what I’m hearing,
they’re making the same choices, and
with deadlier results. The system needs
to change but it doesn’t. It just hires a
hundred new guards who are trained
by the old, burnt out guards. And
the status quo is maintained. And the
correction machine keeps moving,
spitting out hurt, addicted people, no
better than when they were arrested.
They should change their name. They’re
not corrections, they’re not correcting
anything. And their new uniforms make
them look like the Gestapo. It’s not
1940, but you wouldn’t know it from
where I’m sitting.
About Seg
Anonymous
In October of 1999, I was charged with
1st degree murder. I was sent to the
seg unit in the bucket for the first week
I was there. I spent 3.5 years in and
out of seg for fighting, among other
things. I was finally convicted of 2nd
degree murder in 2002. I was on heavy
duty medication and when I got to the
pen, the doctor played around with my
medication so I became buggy!
I got into a fight and was transferred.
I didn’t want to be at this new place,
so I stayed in seg, refusing to go to
pop. It took 9 months of bullshit from
guards provoking me til I got sent to
a treatment centre, because they said
my mental health was suffering. Then
I stayed at the treatment centre 2 years
before I was sent back to the same
place. I went to seg again for another 9
months, because I refused to go to pop.
Finally, I got a transfer to Edmonton.
I did great there. Only 2 fights. I got
my medium sec and got to attend my
father’s funeral. For 3 years I did well in
a low medium sec inst, until I got into a
fight with an officer. I was put back into
seg. After 4 months I was transferred
to a high medium sec prison and after
getting into a fight, I was put back in
seg. This time I wanted a transfer so
I put in for one. No one in Canada
wanted me, so I fought on and finally
after 9 months in seg, and getting legal
counsel, I got a transfer.
When I got to the new joint my case
management team wanted to meet with
me, that’s when I learned that I have
spent over a thousand days in seg in
total, because of all the bullshit fights,
etc. Now here in 2017, the govern-
ment is saying anything over 15 days is
torture? LOL.
I realize most of the thousand plus days
is my fault, my behavior most of the
time was bad. But now almost 20 years
later, I like to spend my time in my cell,
even though I am almost minimum sec,
I leave my cell door open so people can
come by and shoot the shit and stuff.
But I like my solitary life!! And no one
understands why?! LMFAO
During my stints in seg I took to work-
ing out, sleeping and writing people.
No matter what happened, I always
think positive, and I won’t bullshit you,
Prozac helped a lot too. So if any of
you finds yourselves in seg I would like
to tell you: keep your chin up!
In historic 1st, transgender inmate
wins transfer to women's prison
By Kathleen Harris, originally pub-
lished by CBC News
Canada’s federal prison service has
approved the first transfer of a
transgender inmate to an institution
based on gender identity rather than
physical anatomy, CBC News has
learned.
Fallon Aubee, who has been serving
a life sentence at B.C.’s Mission
Institution, told CBC her request to
move to a women’s prison has been
approved, and that she will be trans-
ferred to Fraser Valley Institution for
Women on Tuesday.
Aubee called it a “profound deci-
sion,” but said the journey to this day
has been an emotional roller-coaster.
She says the move will allow her to
focus more on her future and less on
the problems of living as a woman in
a men’s institution. But she concedes
the path ahead will bring its own
challenges.
“I think it’s going to be a huge
adjustment going to the prison for
women, not just for me but for the
women who are there as well because
I am pre-op so there’s a stigma
that’s attached to ‘there’s a guy living
here,’” she said in a telephone inter-
view with CBC News. “I want to be
able to defuse that with my character,
my attitude, my generosity, so they
say, ‘Wait a minute, she’s just one of
the girls.’”
Aubee said it feels “incredibly huge”
to be a trailblazer, and wants to help
other trans inmates who hope to go
down the same path.
“Despite all the stigma, the discrim-
ination, the harassment, the abuse,
the sexual abuse, I believe it was a
worthwhile journey because I can
stand tall and proud today and say,
I’m a woman and I’m going to be
recognized as a woman and I’m
going to live in a woman’s prison,”
she said.
A new accommodation policy was
prompted by Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau earlier this year.
Canada’s prison service abruptly
reversed course and adopted an in-
terim policy for transgender inmates
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
The “Trou” Reality of Segrega-
tion: Confessions of a hope-
less, long-term segregated,
psychologically distressed and
suicidal inmate
By Jonathan Lévesque-Gervais
(French Canadian from Quebec)
It is not because there is some snow on
the furnace that the fire is extinguished
inside, right? This is the TROU reality
that is about to leave some taxpayers in
Canada shaken.
I must first mention that I have been
segregated since June 19th, 2016 under
section 31(3)(a) because I had threat-
ened harm to someone in order to be
placed in seg out of fear for my own
safety 31(3)(c). But, I officially spent
765 days since October 2014, moved
to/transferred 6 times to 6 different
institutions and changed cells over
40 times. I have also been in nearly
15 incidents, placed in seg about 12
times, accumulated approximately 60
disciplinary charges and got fined for
concrete blossoms
A column for self-identified
women, genderqueer and non-bi-
nary folks.
in January, just one day after Trudeau
promised to promote equality for all
transgender Canadians, including those
behind bars.
He was asked about it at a town hall
meeting in Kingston, Ont., and made
the off-the-cuff pledge to address what
advocates see as a human rights issue.
Correctional Service Canada changed
course and said it would consider
transfers and other accommodations on
a case-by-case basis, replacing the strict,
long-standing rule that based placement
on genitalia rather than gender identity
and considered transfers only after sex
reassignment surgery.
Human rights policy review
CSC also launched a broader review
of all its transgender policies to ensure
they comply with new laws to pro-
tect the human rights of transgender
Canadians.
Spokesperson Lori Halfper said that
consultations are ongoing to update
policy to ensure offenders and staff
members are treated according to
their “self-identified gender or gender
expression, regardless of their physical
anatomy or the gender noted on their
identification documents.”
Halfper said decisions around timing of
the transfer, cell assignment and inter-
actions with other inmates will be made
to ensure they are appropriate and safe
for the transferred inmate.
up to $1500 since October 2014. The
worst part is, I found out just 15 days
before my day parole hearing, that
I have a diagnosis of a personality
disorder, cluster B, and I have never
been approached to assess this. I was
denied parole. I will appeal and fight for
my freedom because I really deserve it.
I need to keep fighting so that I don’t
suffer the same fate as my buddy, Guy
Langlois, who committed suicide on
April 23, 2017. He was in his cell up in
a range on unit 3 segegration in Renous
when he died. Anyway let’s get straight
to the point and explain how CSC fails
to ensure public, staff and inmate safety
in what is supposedly the most secure
and restrictive area of any jail. The hole
(Le Trou).
I have been in segregation for the past
12 months because I am too scared to
integrate in any maximum institution.
But, I officially spent 765+ days in soli-
tary confinement since October 2014.
More letters about seg cont'd on page 7
“Our staff will receive training, re-
sources and updates to policies so they
are properly informed and prepared to
implement changes resulting from this
legislation,” she said. “With the updated
policies we expect that, unless there are
irresolvable health or safety concerns,
an offender may be placed in a peniten-
tiary that matches their gender identity.”
Treated like ‘junkyard dog’
Aubee was convicted of first-degree
murder in 2003 in a street-gang contract
killing case.
When first in brought into custody
at the federal prison in Prince Al-
bert, Sask., Aubee said she was held
in segregation for six months after
advising officials she was transgender,
in conditions that made her feel like a
“junkyard dog.”
Since then, it has been an uphill battle
for single-cell privacy and other basics
like women’s clothing and toiletries.
Fallon Aubee
Aubee is the first federal transgender
inmate to be transferred to a prison
based on gender identity rather than
genitalia. (Submitted photo)
She said she faced discrimination by
other inmates and staff who were not
properly trained on the needs of trans-
gender people.
Aubee carved out a niche working as a
prisoners’ legal rights advocate, helping
on parole bids and fighting for better
quality prison food. The role afforded
her some protection from peers, be-
cause she provided a valued service.
Canadians support transgender rights
Last year, Ontario became the first
jurisdiction in Canada to allow inmates
to serve their sentences in institutions
based on self-identified gender, and to
be referred to by their chosen names
and preferred pronouns.
At the time the provincial government
called it “the most progressive policy on
the treatment of trans inmates in North
America.”
It’s not known how many offenders are
placed in Ontario jails based on gender
identity.
British Columbia was the second prov-
ince to permit placement according to
gender identity.
6 // art
Thank you to the folks inside Bath Institution for this powerful piece
Artist: Jack Bender
Artist: Brian Kerr
Artist: Mustapha El-Kaaki
Artist: Jeremy Hall
Artist: Brian Kerr Artist: John Siscoe
Artist: Mustapha El-Kaaki
Artist: Jeremy Hall
Omar Munoz Gomez
Artist: Larry Dillabough Artist: Jack Bender
Artist: Mustapha El-Kaaki
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
Artist: Jeremy Hall
Artist: Mustapha El-Kaaki
Artist: Larry Dillabough
To all the artists who
contributed their work to
this issue of Cell Count:
a big THANK YOU! I
wish I could print them
all bigger, but we only
have so much space.
To other talented
folks, please send us your
work! If you need us to
print it under a pseud-
onym or would like us
to send it back to you,
please write a line stating
so with the work you
mail in. If you want us to
send your work as pub-
lished in Cell Count to
your family and friends,
please also let us know
that too. Just write their
name and address and
we'll send them a copy
of Cell Count with your
Artist: Mustapha El-Kaaki art printed in it.
7 // health and harm reduction
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
Why are prisons unfit to address mental illness inside? More letters about segregation
cont'd from page 5
Anonymous Contributing Writer Possible Value Score By a Humbled Servant of that darkness and into the light, in my
Prison is a rough and hostile place, especially for those
No psychological concerns 0.5 new life as a servant of the Lord God!
affected by mental illness. There are many stigmas and When I think back on my life of prison My friends and homies will all wonder
hostilities among other inmates towards those who have Psychological concerns noted 1.5 and CAS and to jail and provincial custody, about this new-found faith, but my true
mental illness. They are especially hard on those who al- As seen in this field there is a score difference of 1.0 I remember every “hole” or seg trip. The friends know I’ve always prayed or read
ready suffer from past trauma and hardship in their lives. points between those inmates with ‘psychological concerns first day is always the worst. I deal with the Bible, only now I wish to share it with
The limited resources available to inmates is also difficult noted’ and those without. If you read the definition of what I did to get in seg or what I didn’t do others. I have segregation to thank for that.
for those affected by mental illness. Furthermore, it is what is ‘psychological concerns noted’ the explanation is: correctly to avoid seg, and the depression Once in segregation in most jails you can
especially important and essential that people suffering a. Are considered to be “contributing” or “other” factors. and thoughts of hate, anger and rage for only have one kind of book. The Book of
from mental illness have supports that comprise of com- Or b. Are indicated in a professional assessment or through that first five minutes of segregation. It is God and it comes in many forms, such as
munity and family rather than incarceration (eg a sense treatment. Essentially, if an inmate were pre-diagnosed with pure torture to be in a cell with nothing and the Quran, Bible or Torah. But we have the
of compassion and warmth, acceptance and belonging, a mental illness prior to incarceration or unfortunately ‘been in most provincial prisons, they leave you right to a religious book. The key to me
social and family companionship and bonds, which are treated for’ by a professional or had been assessed through no clothes except for a pair of boxers. I getting through several of my many segre-
often seriously lacking in a prison setting). The bottom an assessment. Their score would be bumped higher by have had many different reactions to being gation stays has been the Bible and in a few
line is – those affected by mental illness very much want 1.0 points. In a system where every ‘point’ and ‘half-point’ placed in solitary and the most common cases, I asked for the Quran. These books
to cascade down the prison system just as much as any counts. It’s a big difference rather discrimination against one is to bang, scream, rap and let out all helped bring up my spirits and become
regular inmates do, if not even more so. Yet they seem those are who affected by mental illness (a difference of the anger and rage inside. There is also closer to God. Most of all to those who
to face discriminatory practice and procedures right allowing you to continue to cascade down the system, or bar times when seg became a home away from read this: it does not matter your colour,
down to this very cascading process. you from it) and ‘regular inmates’. the stress of the cell block and gave me creed nor faith, once you realize or come to
The Security Reclassification Scale is used to determine It’s no wonder many inmates wouldn’t bother using the time to think of what’s to come in my life, a point in your life and need help, ask the
which level of prison – max, medium or minimum, an mental health services in prison. One even told me, “Don’t or where I’m going. More recently, I have Creator, God, Ja, Allah, Jesus or any other
inmate qualifies for and be placed at. This scale is a scor- you ever talk to those people at psychology, I wouldn’t spent the last 4.5 months in segregation to type of higher power for help and they will
ing process built in such a way that every single ‘point’ touch them with a 4-foot pole. I would rather be tied to get my high school GED and I passed the be there for you in your time of need.
(and ‘half-point’) counts in determining who should go horses and dragged through mud than to talk to one of test to get my diploma. I have also started Segregation can be a downfall or awaken-
where! A total score of 16.5 points or less classify you them!” doing Bible studies, and have given my life ing and release from prison stress. But all
to a minimum. A total score ranging from 16.5 – 26.5 In Canada, one cannot be discriminated against because to God and accepted Jesus as my lord and that said, segregation can be a dark place.
classifies you to a max. There are 15 ‘fields’ that can be of mental illness. So why have this unfair and discrimi- savior. I’ve found a new peace within my No one should have to be in segregation
assigned points to and adds up to the total score. The 2 natory ‘field’ against inmates who are affected by mental life and I am learning things about myself. EVER.
‘fields’ that raises concern are ‘Detention Referral’ and illness when it matters the most to them – in their cascading Which brings me to my last days of
‘psychological concerns.’ process? Many inmates suffer from illnesses such as schizo- segregation, with the thoughts of who will Dead men tell no tales
phrenia, mood disorders, borderline personality disorders, be on the range when I get there, or what Anonymous
Possible Value Score post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or more commonly, will happen to me? Will I have to defend (Dead men tell no tales) for example if
depression and anxiety, etc. Many of those cannot simply be myself ? Will the new prison accept me? cameras are recording certainly credible
Not Referred 0.5 ‘cured’ but are rather lifelong. Is the penal system encourag- Will my faith guide me? Will I stay out of to watch. Business between staff and
Anticipated Referral 2.0 ing, indicating and enforcing that people with and affected trouble? How will I get by? You see, in the inmates in units for staff safety and also
Referred for Detention Review 2.0 by mental illness should cascade and reintegrated into the past I would worry about what it would be inmates safety. Those cameras document
community and be instead in jail? like once I’m out of seg, now I am curious how great staff and inmate work together
Detained 2.0 I would like to remain anonymous but I can share with to see how faith will guide me. in provincial custody. Serving a sentence
Life or Indeterminate Sentence 2.0 you that my circumstances are very unfortunate because I When I was younger and placed in segre- it’s important that physical emotions kept
am a ‘lifer’ with PTSD. I was brutally physically and sexually gation, I would hate it and want out so bad, in order. In translation, physical contact
As seen this field is mainly used for inmates that have abused as a child and eventually I got so fed up and afraid now I’m thankful for my segregation time is ignored in custody. The evidence is in
further offences on top of their current one being of revictimization and the many threats made on my life because it has helped me solve some inner the DNA between staff and inmate. This
served. Yet a ‘life’ sentence would result in a score of by my abuser, that I committed my offence against him. issues and gave me the space to obtain my does not accommodate treatment entirely.
2.0 which is 1.5 points higher than most of the ‘regular So now I am hit with a double whammy by the Security high school diploma. It has also brought me Entirely enormous betrayal, this is physical
inmates’ would have at a score of 0.5. According to Classification Scale (SRS). With the cascading process for closer to God. For a place that brought me and mental abuse if not motives for sexual
CSC’s own study – lifers are the group that is least likely lifers and those with mental illness so discriminatory, it’s no to dark places in my mind and life, the way assault. Not offensive. Jeopardizes citizens
to reoffend according to reports. So why discriminato- wonder that many lifers and especially those with mental ill- I ended up using this time brought me out in a workforce. STU facility of treatment.
rily adding 1.5 points higher than most other ‘regular’ ness are still stuck CATIE’s hepCinfo.ca web site–your access to hepatitis C information–now on newsprint! 5
inmates and making it harder for ‘lifers’ to cascade to a in prison long
‘minimum’? after their parole
The field ‘Psychological Concerns’ date – some by COMPARING HEP C AND HIV
more than several
decades. Hep C HIV
Welcoming Les Harper "Trou" reality (cont'd from 5) Transmission Through contact with infected blood. Through contact with infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids, rectal
(cont'd from page 2) fluids or breast milk.
how easy it is for Indigenous I will address some of the issues at
culture to disappear when it is not one of the institutions, where I’ve ex- How most people get it in Canada Using drug-use equipment already used by someone else, Unprotected sex. Using drug-use equipment already used by
encouraged and taught. His touch- perienced the most traumatization to particularly equipment for injection drug use. someone else, particularly equipment for injection drug use.
stone to this time in his life is his date. A typical day in seg at this place
fine arts practice, that he has used is: cell fight, people shitbomb each Testing Antibody test looks for exposure. RNA test looks for infection. Positive antibody test shows infection.
throughout his counseling and other, break their window and other
community build work to foster a
broad understand and connection inmate’s window to shitbomb, set fires Treatment goal Treatment is available and may clear the virus from the body. Treatment is available to keep the virus under control. You can be
with Indigenous Peoples living the in the middle of the night, pop their infected with a type of HIV that does not respond to treatment. This
challenges of being in a city envi- sprinklers, block their toilets to flood is called a drug-resistant strain of HIV.
ronment, and share their stories to the unit. Trust me, this is real hell over
the world at large. here. We are treated inhumanely, the How long it takes to treat Hep C treatment takes six months to a year depending on the strain Once it is started, HIV treatment is life-long.
Les has been a strong advocate warden is different from month to of Hep C that you have.
for awareness and education of month, they play musical chairs in the
HIV in Aboriginal communities How long it survives outside the Hep C can survive for at least four days outside the body. HIV dies within minutes in open air outside the body.
for over 20 years. His program, administration offices, deny me my le- body
Healing Together, intends to bridge gal rights, and I am targeted for being Risk of re-infection
HIV health and wellness with French Canadian. I have been in the There is no immunity to Hep C. You can be re-infected even if you You have HIV for life but can sometimes be infected with more than
traditional teachings, medicines so-called hot cell for suicide observa- already cleared the virus. one strain.
and ritual.  He has seen that the tion more than 5 times since October Vaccine There is currently no vaccine available for Hep C. There is currently no vaccine available for HIV.
barriers of isolation, devaluation, 2016. My friend Guy was held in seg
and marginalization have created for around 120 days before he had
the current HIV crisis faced in committed suicide. I told the psychol- Number of people living with the Canada: 250,000 infections Canada: 65,000 infections
Indigenous communities through ogist that my friend was suicidal and infection (estimates)
Turtle Island. Often missing from Worldwide: 170 million infections Worldwide: 33 million infections
the HIV response is an approach they never did anything about it. I just
rooted in standing for the great- found out about my mental health
ness and self-determination of diagnosis 15 days before my parole HEP
and canCkeep
AND you HIV
healthy for a very stream.
you are at Sexual
risk for thetransmission
other, as both harm About 13,000 Canadians who have both infections
higher. It also moremakescompli-
decisions
Indigenous People. Bringing the hearing, and nobody wants to help CO-INFECTION
long time. If you have HIV, talk to of enter
can Hep the C isbody
rare the
butsamethe way. before Hep C symptoms
also have HIV. develop.
You may Thebe cated.
about Because
treatment of for this,
both all of the
infections
medicine wheel to the lives of me. All they want is to ship me to If youorhave
a doctor either worker
healthcare HIV orto HIV risk and
increases
Hep Cif are youbothhaveblood- only way toand
co-infected know is by itgetting
not know because suggestions for reducing
more complicated. Becauseharmof this,
prisoners and ex-prisoners, Healing another max and in another seg. This find Hepout C,more
you about
are atHIV
risk treatment.
for the HIV.diseases,
borne Taking care which to means
not usethat an HIV
both testcan
viruses andsilently
the rightcauseHep harm and promoting general health
all of the suggestions for reducing
Together aims to bring balance to letter is not complete and exhaustive. CATIE’s other, as both
websitecan(www.catie.ca)
enter the materials
they contaminated
can be transmitted whenwith blood Cbefore
tests.symptoms develop. The only are even more important for peo-
the physical, emotional, mental body the same way. blood will help you stay safe. wayBeing
to knowco-infected
is by gettingwith anHIVHIV harm
ple whoandhave
promoting general health
both infections.
and spiritual dimensions of its I hope I win my fight for freedom so also has more information on HIV carrying the virus gets into your are even more important for people
and HIV and Hep C are both About 13,000 Sexual Canadians test and the right
transmission and Hep C is a serious situa- Hep C tests. Do you have questions about
participants. Through this explora- that I can get the help I need for my HIV treatment.
bloodborne diseases, which
bloodstream.
who have Hep C also have tion because it means that the whoorhave
this are both infections.or infected
co-infected
tion, Les believes that Indigenous mental health, instead of continue of Hep C is rare but the risk increases Being co-infected with HIV
HEP
meansCthat ANDthey HIVcan be trans- ifHIV. YouHIV.mayTaking
be co-infected
care to not chances
people living with the virus will to languish in segregation, because I
CO-INFECTION
you have and HepofC developing
is a seriousliver dis- with either HCV or HIV? Call
situation
come to a place of whole person don’t want to suffer the same fate as mitted when blood carrying the use andmaterials
not know it because both
contaminated with ease are higher.
because it meansItthat alsothe makes
chances PASAN 1-866-224-9978 or CAT-
and full spectrum health.   Guy. Love y’all. Peace. virus
If you gets
haveinto your
either HIVblood-
or Hep C, viruses
blood willcan
helpsilently
you staycausesafe. decisions
of developing aboutliver treatmentdiseaseforare IE 1-800-263-1638.
8 // resources & about pasan
CELL COUNT//ISSUE 81//SUMMER 2017
EAST COAST
COALITION des ORGANISMESCOM- BLACK INMATES & FRIENDS ASSEM- PEEL HIV/AIDS NETWORK KIMAMOW ATOSKANOW FOUNDA-
ALLY CENTRE MUNAUTAIRES QUEBECOIS de LUTTE- BLY Accept collect calls TION
Take collect calls CONTRE le SIDA (COCQSIDA) 2518 Eglinton Avenue West 160 Traders Blvd, Unit 1, Mississauga, Accept collect calls
150 Bentinck St, Sydney, NS, B1P Accept collect calls Toronto, Ontario M6M 1T1 L4Z 3K7 RR 1, Site 1, Box 133, Onoway, AB, T0E
1G6 902-567-1766 1 est, rue Sherbrooke, Montréal, H2X ph (416) 652-3131 1-866-896-8700, 905-361-0523 (Collect) 1V01-866-971-7233, 780-913-9036
AIDS COALITION of NOVA SCOTIA 3V8 514-844-2477 POSITIVE LIVING NIAGARA PETERBOROUGH AIDS RESOURCE NINE CIRCLES COMMUNITY HEALTH
Accept collect calls COMITÉ des PERSONNES ATTEINTES Accept collect calls from registered NETWORK (PARN) CENTRE
1675 Bedford Row, Halifax, NS, B3J 1T11- du VIH du QUEBEC (CPAVIH) clients Accept collect calls 705 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB, R3G 0X2
800-566-2437, 902-425-4882 1-800-927-2844 (Recommend that you get a case man- 302-159 King St, Peterborough, K9J 1-888-305-8647
AIDS COMMITTEE of NEWFOUND- 2075 rue Plessis bureau 310, Montreal, ager to get registered with them) 2R81-800-361-2895, 705-932-9110 (Col- PLWA NETWORK OF SASKATCHEWAN
LAND & LABRADOR H2L 2Y4 1-800-927-2844 111 Church St, St Catharines, L2R lect) No collect calls
Take collect calls 3C9 905-984-8684 or toll free 1-800- STREET HEALTH CENTRE Box 7123, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 4I1 306-
47 Janeway Place, St. John’s, NL, A1A ONTARIO 773-9843 Accept collect calls 373-7766
1R7 1-800-563-1575 2-SPIRITED PEOPLE of the 1ST NA- ANISHNAWBE HEALTH AIDS PRO- Hepatitis C Treatment Program235 PRINCE ALBERT METIS WOMEN’S
AIDS NEW BRUNSWICK TIONS GRAM Wellington St, Kingston, K7K 0B5 613- ASSOC.
65 Brunswick St, Fredericton, NB, E3B Accept collect calls No collect calls 549-1440 (Collect) No collect calls
1G51-800-561-4009, 506-459-7518 145 Front Street East Suite 105 Toronto, 255 Queen St E, Toronto, M5A 1S4 416- THE AIDS NETWORK (TAN) 54 10th St E, Prince Albert, SK, S6V
AIDS PEI Ontario M5A 1E3 416-944-9300 360-0486 Don’t accept collect calls 0Y5 306-763-5356
Take collect calls AIDS COMMITTEE of TORONTO (ACT) ASIAN COMMUNITY AIDS SERVICE 101-140 King St E, Hamilton, L8N RED RIBBON PLACE
2-375 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE, 543 Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON. Don’t accept collect calls right now (they 1B2 905-528-0854 toll free 1-866-563- (ALL NATIONS HOPE AIDS NETWORK)
C1A 4N4 902-566-2437 M4Y 1Y5 416-340-2437 (Please note, will in 2-3 months) 0563  2735 5th Ave, Regina, SK, S4T
AIDS SAINT JOHN they do not accept collect calls) When prisoners call, they offer them THE WORKS 0L2 1-877-210-7622
Don’t accept collect calls AFRICANS in PARTNERSHIP AGAINST small bursaries to cover their calling fees Accept collect calls STREET CONNECTIONS
115 Hazen St, NB, E2L 3L3 506-652-2437 AIDS 107-33 Isabella St, Toronto, M4Y 277 Victoria St, Toronto, 416-392-0520 No collect calls
HEALING OUR NATIONS: No collect calls, call PASAN 2P7 416-963-4300 (Collect) (Collect) 705 Broadway Ave, Winnipeg, MB,
1-800 565 4255 526 Richmond St E, Toronto, M5A BLACK COALITION for AIDS PREVEN- TORONTO PWA FOUNDATION R3G 0X2 204-940-2504 WOMEN: 50
3-15 Alderney Dr, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 1R3 416-924-5256 TION Accept collect calls from clients Argyle, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 0H6 204-
2N21-800-565-4255, 902-492-4255 AIDS COMMITTEE of CAMBRIDGE, Accept collect calls 200 Gerrard St E, 2nd Flr, Toronto, M5A 943-6379
MAINLINE NEEDLE EXCHANGE KITCHENER,WATERLOO & AREA 20 Victoria St, 4th Flr, Toronto, M5C 2E6 416-506-1400
Calls from within Nova Scotia are free 2N8 416-977-9955 (Collect) Toronto Community Hep C Program WEST COAST 
Accept collect calls
Don’t accept collect calls Have a toll-free number CANADIAN HIV/AIDS LEGAL NET- Accept collect calls AIDS VANCOUVER ISLAND
5511 Cornwallis St, Halifax, NS, B3K 2B-625 King St E, Kitchener, N2G WORK 955 Queen Street East, Toronto, M4M Accepts collect calls. 713 Johnson St,
1B3 902-423-9991 4V4 519-570-3687 (Collect), 1-877–770– Accept collect calls 3P3 3rd Flr, Victoria, V8W 1M8 250-384-
SHARP ADVICE NEEDLE EXCHANGE 3687 1240 Bay St #600, Toronto, M5R 2A7 416-595- 416-461-1925 (Collect only on Tuesday & 2366 or 1-800-665-2437
Accept collect calls AIDS COMMITTEE OF GUELPH 1666 (Collect) Friday, 11am-5pm) PLBC - PRISON OUTREACH PROJ-
150 Bentnick St, Sydney, NS, B1P Accept collect calls, prefer that people FIFE HOUSE Once out, please call 416-417-6135 ECT
6H1 902-539-5556 (Collect) use their Accepts collect calls 1107 Seymour St, Vancouver, V6B
SIDA/AIDS MONCTON 490 Sherbourne St, 2nd Flr, Toronto, M4X 1K9   PRAIRIES 
89 Dawson Rd, Unit 113, Guelph, N1H 5S8 Toll Free: PROV - 604-525-8646
Accept collect calls as long as they’re 3X2 1-800-282-4505; 519-763-2255 416-205-9888 HIV COMMUNITY LINK FED - 1-877-900-2437 (#’s approved
HIV related (Collect) HIV & AIDS LEGAL CLINIC OF ON. Accept collect calls by institutions and are NOT Collect
80 Weldon St, Moncton, NB, E1C AIDS COMMITTEE of NORTH BAY (HALCO) 110-1603 10th Ave SW, Calgary, AB, T3C Calls)
5V8 506-859-9616 and AREA Accept collect calls 0J7 403-508-2500 POSITIVE WOMEN’S NETWORK
Accept collect calls 65 Wellesley St E, Toronto, M4Y AIDS SASKATOON 614-1033 Davie St, Vancouver, V6E
QUEBEC 1G7 1-888-705-8889
201-269 Main St W, North Bay, P1B 1143 Ave F N, Saskatoon, SK, S7L 1X1306-242- 1M7 Toll Free: 1-866-692-3001 (BC
CACTUS 2T8 705-497-3560 (Collect) HIV/AIDS REGIONAL SERVICES (HARS) 5005 1-800-667-6876 Only)
Accept collect calls AIDS COMMITTEE of OTTAWA Accept collect calls CENTRAL ALBERTA AIDS NET-
1300 rue Sanguinet, Montreal, H2X 700-251 Bank St, Ottawa, K2P 1X3 613- 844-A Princess St, Kingston, K7L WORK SOCIETY NATIONAL
3E7 514-847-0067 238-5014 (Collect) or Toll Free (ON & QC 1G5 613-545-3698 (Collect) No collect calls CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF ELIZA-
CENTRE for AIDS SERVICES MONTRE- only) 1-2800-461-2182 ONTARIO ABORIGINAL HIV/AIDS 4611 50th Ave, Red Deer, AB, T4N 3Z9 BETH FRY SOCIETIES (Women)
AL (Women) AIDS COMMITTEE of THUNDER BAY STRATEGY 403-346-8858 701-151 Slater St.
Accept collect calls 574 Memorial Ave, Thunder Bay, P7B Accept collect calls HIV EDMONTON Ottawa, ON
1750 Rue Saint-Andre, 3rd Flr, Montreal, 3Z21-800-488-5840, 807-345-1516 (Col- 844-A Princess St, Kingston, K7L 9702 111 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, K1P 5H3
H2L 3T81-877-847-3636, 514-495-0990 lect) 1G5 613-549-7540 (Collect) T5G 0B1 1-877-388-5742 (613) 238-2422

ABOUT PASAN STAFF CELL COUNT TEAM

PASAN is a community-based HIV Service organization Outreach & Education
that strives to provide community development, educa- Eveline Allen Sena Hussain
tion and support to prisoners and ex-prisoners in Ontario Prison Education Programs:  Editor-in-chief
PASAN conducts HIV prevention education programs in
Regional Prison In-Reach Coordinator
ON HIV, Hepatitis C (HCV) and other harm reduction
many adult and youth institutions in the southern Ontario Eveline has worked at PASAN for 17 years, providing Janet Rowe
issues. PASAN formed in 1991 as a grassroots response
region.  This program includes a Peer Educators Group, prisoners in Toronto with harm reduction education, Cell Count Supervisor
to HIV in the Canadian prison system. Today, PASAN
whereby ex-prisoners living with HIV are educators for HIV & HCV prevention, transmission and treatment
is the only community-based organization in Canada Victor Bruzzone
current prisoners.   information. If you are incarcerated at the Toronto Writer
exclusively providing HIV and HCV prevention, education
PASAN conducts free training for those working with South Detention Centre (TSDC) or the Toronto East
and support services to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their
prison-affected and drug using populations.  Training Detention Centre (TEDC) and would like a harm Nick Paccione
families.
topics include: reduction program on your unit or a private one on Writer
Support Services ▪ HIV & Prison one educational please call 1-866-224-9978 Ext. Rob Johnson
▪ Harm Reduction 238
Individual Support Services: Writer
▪ The Impact of Segregation Zachary Grant
▪ Individual support & counselling ▪ Stigma & Discrimination Les Harper
▪ case management
Federal Hep C Program Coordinator
Writer
▪ pre-release and post-release planning
Systemic Advocacy Seth Clarke
▪ referrals  Since our beginnings in 1991, PASAN has always
​Federal Community Development Coordinator Kevin Kohl
▪ advocacy for medical services  maintained a focus on systemic issues of HIV/AIDS and Trevor Gray Writer
▪ housing supports prisons.   Some has been involved in many systemic Community Programs Coordinator
Larry Cardinal
▪ phone support through collect calling  advocacy efforts including: Les Harper Writer
▪ emergency financial assistance (limited budget for fees ▪ Prison Needle Syringe Project (2014/15) Aboriginal Program Coordinator
related to identification and prison release.  Application ▪ Advocacy against the use of segregation Sena Hussain Jonathan Lévesque-Gervais
requirements exist) ▪ Presentation to the Canadian Human Rights Commis- Communications and Resource Development Coordi- Writer
sion (2001) nator
Community Support Services:
▪ Advocacy for male-to-female transsexual/transgendered Sena is the new editor of Cell Count, and looks Kurt Schmidt
PASAN also provides support AIDS Service Organizations
prisoners and HIV (1999) forward to getting the newspaper out to you more Writer
▪ Presentation to the Presidential Advisory Council on regularly again!
and community groups across Ontario.  This includes:  Terrance Naistus
HIV/AIDS in Washington DC (1998)
▪ resources & educational materials Lindsay Jennings Writer
▪ Presentation to the Parliamentary Subcommittee on
▪ training Provincial HepC Program Coordinator
AIDS (1996)
▪ assistance to set up prison outreach and support ▪ HIV/AIDS in Youth Custody Settings: A Comprehensive
Caludia Medina Poetry & Art: Brian G. Kerr, Larry Cardinal,
projects Strategy (1996)
Women’s Community Program Coordinator Mike Tomasik, Moe Sleiman, Rob Johnson, An-
thony George, Larry-James, Kris Olsen, Jay Bev-
▪ strategies to develop referral “hubs” for HIV positive ▪ Organization of the first National Workshop on HIV/ Janet Rowe an, Larry Dillabough, Wayne Yates, Forgotten
prisoners AIDS in Prison (1995).  Executive Director Warrior, Kevin Kohl, Grizzly Bear, Matt Hermes,
▪ networking for the development of a continuum of care ▪ HIV/AIDS in Prison Systems: A Comprehensive Strate- Cherisa Shivcharran Jeremy Hall, Jack Bender, Oscar Munoz Gomez,
for prisoners transferred between regions  gy (1992) Provincial Community Development Coordinator Mustapha El-Kaaki, & John Siscoe.