Prisoner Correspondence Project

VOLUNTEER CALL-OUT 🗣️

In addition to running a pen pal program, Prisoner Correspondence Project also has an extensive resource library with more than 200 zines and pamphlets on topics ranging from jailhouse law, to safer s*x and drug use, to trans health and identity, to gay s**t. We receive anywhere from 10-30 resource requests from prisoners every week, and everything is distributed to inside members for free by our volunteers.

Join us anytime from 2pm to 6pm on June 27th as we photocopy, compile, and package resources for our comrades behind bars. You can also swing by to find out more about the project and getting a penpal!

Graphic by our lovely graphic design volunteer .jbie!

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
QPIRG Concordia is located at 2100 Rue Guy, suite 205. There is an elevator in our building. There are two entrances. The entrance at 2100 Guy has one flight of stairs.

For step-free access, use the entrance at 1625 de Maisonneuve Ouest. Buzz #0205 to be let through the automatic doors, then take the elevator up to the second floor. The door to our space can be opened by automated button, and swings out.

The space contains one gender-neutral, single occupancy, wheelchair accessible washroom. The door is not automated, it swings in and is pretty light.

We have masks on-site, and it is mandatory to wear one. There are also two air filters in the space. Please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID/flu.

MERCH ALERT: We have new t-shirts in stock! 100% cotton! Screenprinted locally! $25-30 sliding-scale! PE*******ON IS UNAUTHORIZED is based on a real rejection notice the Prisoner Correspondence Project received. As a group working in solidarity with q***r and trans prisoners in the US and Canada, we send zines free of charge to our members on a variety of topics: from harm reduction, to gender transition, to yes, (pre-censored) s**t. Still, even though nothing graphic is actually shown in the zines we send in, mailroom rejections vary wildly from prison to prison, or even person to person. Censorship is one of the most constant issues we face.

With this shirt, not only do you show solidarity with q***r and trans prisoners, you're letting the world know you're a proud yet oppressed resident of CO****CK ALLEY, CRIME CITY.

TO BUY: Come to our events, or come by the QPIRG Concordia office during our office hours on Tuesdays, from 5-9pm. Cash or interac e-transfer.

Incredible graphic by

From an Inside Collective Member:
When my own family deserted me in February 2001, after my arrest, the people at the Prisoner Correspondence Project, on first contact, became my family. Even providing financial support once. Due to their care and kindness, I’ve not been alone. I’ve always counted on them, & the only disappointments I've experienced are the fault of the financial desert they’re in, & COVID-19.

I am from 3 to 5 times their age, & their young peoples’ educated idealism drives me, & gives me a sounding board for my own — which I’ve never lost, & the criminal justice industrial complex has not been able to crush in me.

Through their newsletter, & willingness to advocate through direct action; i.e, telephone, email, etc.; they stand between me & the administration when I have no one else, calling them on their phones & create a safety valve to release the stress caused by it because I’ve got someone who will call.
-Gavin

The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a solidarity project for2SLGBTQ+ prisoners in Canada and the United States, linking them with people a part of these same communities outside of prison. Donate to our project -- every cent goes towards supporting q***r prisoners -- or sign up for a penpal in our link in bio!

TESTIMONIAL From an Inside Collective Member: When my own family deserted me in February 2001, after my arrest, the people at the Prisoner Correspondence
Project, on first contact, became my family. Even providing financial support once. Due to their care and kindness, I’ve not been alone. I’ve always counted on them, & the only disappointments I've experienced are the fault of the financial desert they’re in, & COVID-19.

I am from 3 to 5 times their age, & their young peoples’ educated idealism drives me, & gives me a sounding board for my own — which I’ve never lost, & the criminal justice industrial complex has not been able to crush in me.

Through their newsletter, & willingness to advocate through direct action; i.e, telephone, email, etc.; they stand between me & the administration when I have no one else, calling them on their phones & create a safety valve to release the stress caused by it because I’ve got someone who will call.

-Gavin

SUPPORT US by becoming a penpal to a q***r prisoner, or donating! We are a grassroots organization and our funding goes directly to our operating costs. More information in our link in bio.

THE NEW MORAL PANIC: WORKSHOP & DISCUSSION

📆 Saturday, June 13th
⏰ 5:30-7:15pm
📍 Parquette (1345 rue de Bellechase)
🔥 Festival Brûlances ( ) - Check out the rest of their programming on their page!

Policies stripping incarcerated trans people – particularly women – of their healthcare, human rights, and basic dignity, are sweeping across the US and Canada. Some have been transferred from women’s prisons back to men’s prisons; others have had their hormone care immediately stopped. These policies didn’t come from nowhere. The media paints a picture of who trans prisoners are: dangerous, predatory, deceptive.

Trans prisoners are an easy target – the courts and the media have ensured that every detail of their crimes, the worst things they have done, are known to the public. Well-meaning liberals hesitate to comment, to take a stance, to be seen as defending someone who did "bad things". This is how we see regression for trans rights. An easy target who no one wants to stand up for.

We will break down recent articles in Canadian media to analyze the moral panic rhetoric being used by politicians and journalists to justify persecuting this tiny minority of people. We will then bring together our skills, knowledge, and networks to create a plan for a real response to counter these dangerous media narratives.

This workshop will be facilitated by members of Prisoner Correspondence Project, a grassroots group seeking to build solidarity in the q***r and trans community between incarcerated and non incarcerated people. It is part of the Brûlances festival.

Content warning: This event will engage heavily with transphobic rhetoric. There will be mentions of s*xual assault.

Do you love graphic design and hate incarceration? Prisoner Correspondence Project is a grassroots group working towards building solidarity between incarcerated and non-incarcerated 2SLGBTQ+ folks. With over 4000 inside members and roughly 7 outside collective members, we need volunteers to help keep up all with a variety of tasks - if you have even one hour a week, please consider it!

📧 info (AT) prisonercorrespondenceproject (DOT) com
🌐 subject line: Graphic Design Volunteer

GRAPHIC DESIGN (REMOTE)
Help us design social media posts and campaigns, print posters, and outside pamplets.
Be creative! We prepare the copy!
Specific projects only--you can choose what you’re interested in.

Volunteer Orientation Day - Tuesday, May 19th

Have you ever wanted to support q***r and trans prisoners, but didn't know where to start? Prisoner Correspondence Project has been working in solidarity with q***r and trans prisoners for twenty (!) years, and we've got you. Come by our office at QPIRG Concordia on Tuesday, May 19th, at 6pm, and we'll show you how we process all our mail, archive the letters we receive, and send essential resources out to our comrades inside.

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
QPIRG Concordia is located at 2100 Rue Guy, suite 205. There is an elevator in our building. There are two entrances. The entrance at 2100 Guy has one flight of stairs.

For step-free access, use the entrance at 1625 de Maisonneuve Ouest. Buzz #0205 to be let through the automatic doors, then take the elevator up to the second floor. The door to our space can be opened by automated button, and swings out.

The space contains one gender-neutral, single occupancy, wheelchair accessible washroom. The door is not automated, it swings in and is pretty light.

We have masks on-site, and it is mandatory to wear one. There are also two air filters in the space. Please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID/flu.

VOLUNTEER CALL-OUT 🗣️

In addition to running a pen pal program, Prisoner Correspondence Project also has an extensive resource library with more than 200 zines and pamphlets on topics ranging from jailhouse law, to safer s*x and drug use, to trans health and identity, to gay s**t. We receive anywhere from 10-30 resource requests from prisoners every week, and everything is distributed to inside members for free by our volunteers.

Join us anytime from 2pm to 6pm on SUNDAY, May 23rd, as we photocopy, compile, and package resources for our comrades behind bars. You can also swing by to find out more about the project and getting a penpal!

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
QPIRG Concordia is located at 2100 Rue Guy, suite 205. There is an elevator in our building. There are two entrances. The entrance at 2100 Guy has one flight of stairs.

For step-free access, use the entrance at 1625 de Maisonneuve Ouest. Buzz #0205 to be let through the automatic doors, then take the elevator up to the second floor. The door to our space can be opened by automated button, and swings out.

The space contains one gender-neutral, single occupancy, wheelchair accessible washroom. The door is not automated, it swings in and is pretty light.

We have masks on-site, and it is mandatory to wear one. There are also two air filters in the space. Please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID/flu.

📍CÉDA room 123, 2515 rue Delisle, Montréal QC
📆 Sunday, May 17th, 4pm

Join us at Constellation's Anarchist Skill Faire for a workshop and pen-pal sign up! We'll explore the specific challenges faced by q***r and trans prisoners, how we handle them as an organization that communicates mainly through mail, and discuss strategies to support these folks, particularly in the broader context of policy changes for trans prisoners in the US and Canada. We will give participants an opportunity to sign-up on the spot to correspond with a specific q***r/trans prisoner at the end of the workshop, as a tangible way to create solidarity.

This is a great way to learn more about prison solidarity if you've been outraged by what you've been seeing, but unsure about how you can get involved!!

Corporate penpal organizations charge prisoners for connection -- they require that people pay for postage and envelopes to participate. At Prisoner Correspondence Project, a solidarity project for 2SLGBTQIA+ prisoners, all of our letters, zines, and newsletters are sent free of charge. This costs us thousands of dollars a year, so we rely on our donors to support prisoners. Become a monthly donor at our link in bio.