Description:


I spent 13.5 years inside of prison and paroled from San Quentin State Prison on September 25, 2018. When I left the conditions were bad, however in the past few months conditions have gone from bad to worse. On May 30th, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transferred 121 men from California Institution for Men in Chino - home of a deadly coronavirus outbreak - to San Quentin, without properly testing them before the transfer. In the month since that transfer, more than one-third of the inmates and staff at San Quentin — 1,900 people — have tested positive for COVID-19. Covid has already executed 6 people inside of San Quentin and at the current rate Covid will take more lives inside of San Quentin this year than the death penalty in California. 


Inside prison, people cannot practice social distancing, receive proper or equitable health care, or receive proper nutrition. With all the positive cases, San Quentin has been placed on lockdown which means no access to showers, outdoor recreation, college and vocational classes, or phones to call family and loved ones. Without the ability to receive packages or purchase basic needs, people inside are especially in need of soap and hygiene products. 


I am trying to raise 16,000 dollars - or $4.00 per person at San Quentin - that will be used to purchase and distribute supplies for every person inside. The following will be purchased for each person:


Soap

Toothpaste

Deodorant

Wash Cloths

Masks


Companies interested in making donations of any of the above items can get in touch with me using the “Contact” button below.  


I will make this donation in honor of a great friend, mentor, and teacher that has recently passed named Hans Schoenburg, who also volunteered inside of San Quentin and always treated me and other incarcerated individuals as human beings. I know he would want to help in any way he could.




Due to the public concern about the conditions of people inside San Quentin and other California prisons, CDCR recently decided to change food vendors. Folks inside are reporting that they are now receiving hot and fresh meals. We have removed food from the list of supplies and adjusted the fundraising goal accordingly. Let’s keep up the pressure!


Thank you to Deva Maas and Acorn Designs for donating notecards, stationery, and envelopes for everyone inside San Quentin. It’s really inspiring to see a small business like this taking action to support incarcerated folks during the pandemic. With their generous donation we are able to remove paper supplies from our wishlist and reduce our overall fundraising goal.