Thanks to the generous support of those who donated to my project all throughout the end of 2016 and all of 2017, I was able to raise a little over half of the overall monetary goal for my endeavor. The turnout was absolutely amazing and I cannot thank everyone enough for the support.
Thanks to these contributions, I was able to do half of the original proposed project. Out of the four places I originally intended to visit, I decided on two, Australia and Argentina. I lived in Melbourne, Australia from January-March and Buenos Aires, Argentina from April-September of 2018, sending me abroad for nine months of the year. Read on for a brief summary of my time abroad and also my current situation!
Thanks to these contributions, I was able to do half of the original proposed project. Out of the four places I originally intended to visit, I decided on two, Australia and Argentina. I lived in Melbourne, Australia from January-March and Buenos Aires, Argentina from April-September of 2018, sending me abroad for nine months of the year. Read on for a brief summary of my time abroad and also my current situation!
CURRENT LOCATION: OAKLAND, UNITED STATES
I returned to the U.S. on September 21, 2018. I spent a few weeks visiting family and friends in Seattle and Portland and then headed down to the Bay area to settle roots in Oakland. I decided to move to Oakland upon my return to the US as this is one of the major hubs of great organizations and activity surrounding criminal justice reform/abolition. After doing such an extensive independent project it is time to do something more formal in order to build professionalism and career experiences/skills. Eventually, I am working toward potentially building an organization or a more extensive project of my own.
January 2019: I have been in the Bay now for three months and though it has been a pretty tough go of it, things are finally looking up. I have been trying to find time to finish my podcast and to do some reflection about my time abroad, but it has been difficult while feeling pressed to job search and create meaningful community and connections.
Upon my arrival in the Bay Area, I immediately got (re)involved with the California Coalition for Women's Prisoners, and I continue to do weekly volunteering with them. I’ve been learning the ropes of the office, responding to mail/requests from primarily incarcerated folks to write to us, and helping them prepare for a women’s support/healing group they are starting in the next few months. I also volunteered as the hospitality lead for TEDX Oakland, which took about a month of planning and then an intensive day of the actual event in Mid-November. I furthermore worked with the organization Prison Activist Resource Center, helping them update their resource directory. Currently, I am excited about volunteering with the Bay Area Alternative Press, an organization that helps people without other means realize projects like zines, calendars, books, etc.
In the midst of all of this I had a temporary job for a month and a half with the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) doing phone surveys about the housing crisis in the East Bay (primarily Concord area), and also calling on proposition 10 before the November elections. This position ended at the end of November and I am still searching for a more permanent job. Since working with EBASE I took a long holiday up to Oregon and Washington, and am finally back in the Bay Area again with some better opportunities in sight.
I am currently working part time at a cafe, Bittersweet (The Chocolate Dragon) that sells amazing hot chocolate. More excitingly, I have a friend who is working on decriminalizing drugs through a 2020 ballot initiative (we’re not sure yet in which state). In the next few weeks, I may be doing a three month trial with him and by the end we will know if we are going to be able to run an initiative from polling and research we will do. I’m pretty excited about this work as it has a lot of potential impact on the justice system. If we are able to decriminalize drugs in a state, it would potentially mean thousands of people diverted away from prison and/or jail.
January 2019: I have been in the Bay now for three months and though it has been a pretty tough go of it, things are finally looking up. I have been trying to find time to finish my podcast and to do some reflection about my time abroad, but it has been difficult while feeling pressed to job search and create meaningful community and connections.
Upon my arrival in the Bay Area, I immediately got (re)involved with the California Coalition for Women's Prisoners, and I continue to do weekly volunteering with them. I’ve been learning the ropes of the office, responding to mail/requests from primarily incarcerated folks to write to us, and helping them prepare for a women’s support/healing group they are starting in the next few months. I also volunteered as the hospitality lead for TEDX Oakland, which took about a month of planning and then an intensive day of the actual event in Mid-November. I furthermore worked with the organization Prison Activist Resource Center, helping them update their resource directory. Currently, I am excited about volunteering with the Bay Area Alternative Press, an organization that helps people without other means realize projects like zines, calendars, books, etc.
In the midst of all of this I had a temporary job for a month and a half with the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) doing phone surveys about the housing crisis in the East Bay (primarily Concord area), and also calling on proposition 10 before the November elections. This position ended at the end of November and I am still searching for a more permanent job. Since working with EBASE I took a long holiday up to Oregon and Washington, and am finally back in the Bay Area again with some better opportunities in sight.
I am currently working part time at a cafe, Bittersweet (The Chocolate Dragon) that sells amazing hot chocolate. More excitingly, I have a friend who is working on decriminalizing drugs through a 2020 ballot initiative (we’re not sure yet in which state). In the next few weeks, I may be doing a three month trial with him and by the end we will know if we are going to be able to run an initiative from polling and research we will do. I’m pretty excited about this work as it has a lot of potential impact on the justice system. If we are able to decriminalize drugs in a state, it would potentially mean thousands of people diverted away from prison and/or jail.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (APRIL-SEPT. 2018)
I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 13th, 2018. In the beginning I was mostly adjusting to the cultural and language differences (culture shock is hard). While I was acclimating, I primarily worked on my podcast (recorded in Australia). During this time I also built networks and reached out to people and organizations in Buenos Aires. It took a few months but I was able to arrange a regular schedule with two different groups as an intern and a volunteer.
The volunteer collaboration was with a group called "Atrapamuros", an organization that visits prisons to put on weekly workshops. I became a part of the weekly Friday workshop at Devoto Federal Prison that operated in the Devoto University Center (CUD, which is a part of the University of Buenos Aires). Though the name of the workshop was officially “Cine Debate” (Film Debate), that didn’t get at the heart of the topics of the workshop which focused on education and connection to the outside. Usually about 6 of us volunteers would go in each week and we would bring in news and topics from the outside world. For example, while I was in Argentina there were huge movements concerning abortion laws, and strikes by students and teachers that shut down universities. Also while I was in Argentina it was announced that they would be closing the Devoto prison and moving the University Center and all of the Devoto inhabitants to another facility outside of the city. These are the types of topics we would bring into conversation and speak to with the men who were in the workshop, debating different viewpoints and opinions of current events. Additionally, upon my last visit I had the opportunity to independently plan and direct a workshop, talking to the men about U.S. prisons. It was an amazing opportunity and conversation, to say the least. One other important note is that one of the only unions of incarcerated workers that exist within prisons in the world operated from within the CUD in Buenos Aires—the Sindicato Unido de Trabajadores Privado de la Libertad Ambulatorio (United Incarcerated Workers). I made friends with many of the men that are part of this group and was deeply inspired by their work. Ultimately I could say so much more about all of this but I made many friends within both the prison and Atrapamuros and found this to be an incredibly inspirational opportunity.
The other organization that I had a chance to intern with was called "Yonofui" (referenced on my Overview page), it is the organization I had wanted to work with for years! The internship was set up such that I attended two of their weekly workshops‚ journalism and screenprinting. I was a participant in the journalism workshop and a helper in the screenprinting workshops (as I have background in this area from college printmaking classes). I also helped to translate materials for the organization, primarily working on some of their past materials published in their yearly magazine, as well as their website materials. Ultimately through this experience I had the opportunity to be a part of a women’s cooperative, and personally know and work alongside formerly incarcerated women. I had the opportunity to hear many stories through writing and conversation and the chance to work in solidarity with these amazing women. It is harder to describe this experience as this group encompassed many things I did in Argentina including events I went to, conversations I had, rallies I attended, etc. It was incredibly influential and I miss these women dearly. My work with this group is part of what motivated me to come back and work with the California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners.
A Note on my Podcast while in Argentina: While I was in Argentina, my podcast became a side project. I did not end up recording many interviews in my time there because I was focusing on my work with the two above mentioned organizations. Another limiting factor was that in Argentina podcasts are still not popularized and there are very few podcasts available in Spanish. Radio is still the primary audio medium (I was featured on a radio program during my time in Argentina). I have been thinking of trying to put together a zine summarizing my time in Argentina as opposed to a podcast.
You can see some of what I did in B.A. below from photos. You can follow Carceral Complex, my podcast, on Facebook or visit the website here!
The volunteer collaboration was with a group called "Atrapamuros", an organization that visits prisons to put on weekly workshops. I became a part of the weekly Friday workshop at Devoto Federal Prison that operated in the Devoto University Center (CUD, which is a part of the University of Buenos Aires). Though the name of the workshop was officially “Cine Debate” (Film Debate), that didn’t get at the heart of the topics of the workshop which focused on education and connection to the outside. Usually about 6 of us volunteers would go in each week and we would bring in news and topics from the outside world. For example, while I was in Argentina there were huge movements concerning abortion laws, and strikes by students and teachers that shut down universities. Also while I was in Argentina it was announced that they would be closing the Devoto prison and moving the University Center and all of the Devoto inhabitants to another facility outside of the city. These are the types of topics we would bring into conversation and speak to with the men who were in the workshop, debating different viewpoints and opinions of current events. Additionally, upon my last visit I had the opportunity to independently plan and direct a workshop, talking to the men about U.S. prisons. It was an amazing opportunity and conversation, to say the least. One other important note is that one of the only unions of incarcerated workers that exist within prisons in the world operated from within the CUD in Buenos Aires—the Sindicato Unido de Trabajadores Privado de la Libertad Ambulatorio (United Incarcerated Workers). I made friends with many of the men that are part of this group and was deeply inspired by their work. Ultimately I could say so much more about all of this but I made many friends within both the prison and Atrapamuros and found this to be an incredibly inspirational opportunity.
The other organization that I had a chance to intern with was called "Yonofui" (referenced on my Overview page), it is the organization I had wanted to work with for years! The internship was set up such that I attended two of their weekly workshops‚ journalism and screenprinting. I was a participant in the journalism workshop and a helper in the screenprinting workshops (as I have background in this area from college printmaking classes). I also helped to translate materials for the organization, primarily working on some of their past materials published in their yearly magazine, as well as their website materials. Ultimately through this experience I had the opportunity to be a part of a women’s cooperative, and personally know and work alongside formerly incarcerated women. I had the opportunity to hear many stories through writing and conversation and the chance to work in solidarity with these amazing women. It is harder to describe this experience as this group encompassed many things I did in Argentina including events I went to, conversations I had, rallies I attended, etc. It was incredibly influential and I miss these women dearly. My work with this group is part of what motivated me to come back and work with the California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners.
A Note on my Podcast while in Argentina: While I was in Argentina, my podcast became a side project. I did not end up recording many interviews in my time there because I was focusing on my work with the two above mentioned organizations. Another limiting factor was that in Argentina podcasts are still not popularized and there are very few podcasts available in Spanish. Radio is still the primary audio medium (I was featured on a radio program during my time in Argentina). I have been thinking of trying to put together a zine summarizing my time in Argentina as opposed to a podcast.
You can see some of what I did in B.A. below from photos. You can follow Carceral Complex, my podcast, on Facebook or visit the website here!
NEW ZEALAND (NORTH ISLAND)
New Zealand was primarily a convenient stopover for a bit of relaxation and traveling but I did end up, as always, doing some things for my project. I had the chance to spend a significant amount of time with the head researcher for People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA) where we had a lot of interesting conversations about incarceration. PAPA is an abolitionist organization that started specifically doing work around transgender people in prisons, but has expanded to now work more broadly to address the worst problems of the criminal justice system. I also managed to learn a bit about the indigenous Maori people.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JAN-MARCH 2018)
A Brief Summary of Three Months in Melbourne: I took off on January 1st, 2018 of the new year, and arrived in Melbourne on January 3rd. I lived in a share house with four other housemates in Fitzroy North, which was an wonderful experience.
As is almost always the case, things never quite go exactly the way one plans and this was definitely the case in Australia. I had envisioned working closely with an organization (in this case I had hoped to work with The Torch Project) and having a day-to-day schedule that involved an internship or volunteer project. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to organized the internship with The Torch Project so I turned my focus to my podcast Carceral Complex.
What resulted was more than 25 separate interviews that I recorded. In the interviews, I discussed many different topics within the realm of the justice/carceral landscape with many people with different kinds of knowledge relating to the justice system. Not all of these interviews will be coming out on Carceral Complex due to confidentiality, but many will. Every time I went into an interview and came out at the end I was so inspired by the work that the people I met do. It was absolutely incredible to be able to talk to a wide breadth of folk about their deep knowledge of different aspects of the justice system.
Though by far the majority of my project in Australia consisted of these interviews, I also had a lot of other things going on as well. I attended a lot of events having to do with history, first peoples, and justice. I also read books, articles, and reports. I talked with a lot of people more informally about different thoughts surrounding the justice system. Just walking around Melbourne, exploring, having the opportunity to see different parts of Australia, helped me to understand better the history and current situation of the carceral system. So many things are interwoven and connected so that it is only through the experience of truly living deeply immersed in a place and subject that you can even begin to touch the depth of complexity involved. For me, I feel I just got a taste of what is the situation in Australia, but even that taste was deeply moving and enlightening. I can't wait to begin to share in more depth with further podcasts coming out!
As is almost always the case, things never quite go exactly the way one plans and this was definitely the case in Australia. I had envisioned working closely with an organization (in this case I had hoped to work with The Torch Project) and having a day-to-day schedule that involved an internship or volunteer project. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to organized the internship with The Torch Project so I turned my focus to my podcast Carceral Complex.
What resulted was more than 25 separate interviews that I recorded. In the interviews, I discussed many different topics within the realm of the justice/carceral landscape with many people with different kinds of knowledge relating to the justice system. Not all of these interviews will be coming out on Carceral Complex due to confidentiality, but many will. Every time I went into an interview and came out at the end I was so inspired by the work that the people I met do. It was absolutely incredible to be able to talk to a wide breadth of folk about their deep knowledge of different aspects of the justice system.
Though by far the majority of my project in Australia consisted of these interviews, I also had a lot of other things going on as well. I attended a lot of events having to do with history, first peoples, and justice. I also read books, articles, and reports. I talked with a lot of people more informally about different thoughts surrounding the justice system. Just walking around Melbourne, exploring, having the opportunity to see different parts of Australia, helped me to understand better the history and current situation of the carceral system. So many things are interwoven and connected so that it is only through the experience of truly living deeply immersed in a place and subject that you can even begin to touch the depth of complexity involved. For me, I feel I just got a taste of what is the situation in Australia, but even that taste was deeply moving and enlightening. I can't wait to begin to share in more depth with further podcasts coming out!