The officers do not get paid well. When you hire anyone who has a GED or HSD, you wouldn't have to pay them well it seems. When they get here it is a rude awakening and they have no training to deal with it. They are called T.E.A's or as we call them T.A's which are officers in training.
So here is how it works with "officers". Say you are 18 and looking for a job and you want to get out of your parent's house (I have been told that). Oh look! Department of Corrections is hiring. Let me sign up! DOC says "here guy, put on this uniform that looks just like a real officer's uniform" and we are going to let you work on the prison grounds even though you have zero training. Work on the compound for 5-6 months, see if you like it. If you do, we will even put you thru school-called the Academy. After the Academy we will test you and if you pass your tests, we will attach a can of real pepper spray to your uniform. Oh, but don't worry if you don't pass the Academy we will let you try again.
So, what we have on the compound are many T.E.A.'s, T.A.'s for short. Young kids, looking for a job, with no training, running around in an officer's uniform.
Now, we are always understaffed. ALWAYS. To fill bodies they allow the T.A.'s to run things. T.A's are never supposed to be unsupervised. HA! HA! HA!. That makes me laugh just reading that. These T.A.'s with no training are running the compound! They have no clue how to call on their radios, what buttons to push in the bubble, which way the chow hall is or what to do when a fight breaks out. Who trains them? WE DO! The inmates do. They don't even know what security level they are working. They don't know how to call count or where to call it into. And with our admin turn-around no warden stays long, or assistant warden or colonel. Last admin was here for a year. I mean really! And they want to take it all out on us. No wonder the inmates are harder to control. Nobody takes these people seriously. Can you imagine an 18 y/o telling a 65 y/o what to do? Every new admin comes with a new idea of control and focuses on the wrong things, let's T.A.'s run things. Nobody respects them and inmates do not take them seriously-why? Because they are all going to leave anyway. You have got women who have been down for 30, 40 years, staying for life. They have had everything taken away with nothing left to do but complain and die.
Sound harsh? Well it is. Do you know what a difference it would make for women to just be able to pick up a box of colored pencils and a coloring book and go to the metal table and just color. A simple pleasure-therapeutic. We are still waiting for an answer on if they will allow colored pencils or Hobby Craft. At the other compound my family started sending games, puzzles, rec equipment that the inmates had not had in years so they did have Friday night game nights, coloring days at the Wellness Center with colored pencils and coloring books. It is amazing what can be accomplished if even one person cares. By the way, we always need those. The Wellness Center here has not gotten to that point yet as they just opened up and my family donated some yoga mats and exercise equipment. I teach a 2 hour yoga class on Monday mornings. When the Wellness Center is more organized and we have an officer in charge all the time, I will let you guys know so you can donate games, puzzles and so forth. DOC website will tell you about different "programs"-not true. And no inmate that works gets paid except the canteen workers at 50.00 a month for a 7 day work week. They expect the women who have lived here longer than anyone will ever work here and have seen DOC change dramatically for the worse-to shut up and be ok.
Not one human should ever live without self-worth or value.
We are all valuable. You have not a clue about the women here. You only know what you can look up and believe me that is only part truth. There is always a back story that you never hear about such as, in my case, they deemed my crack pipe pusher that I happened to have on me a weapon. An earlier blog explains how and why I got here. Don't get me wrong there are women who deserve to be here for the rest of their lives because they lack understanding or remorse for what they have done-esp towards children. But not too many. The majority that are here for a long time (myself included) have to decide how to do their time. That is where value comes in. We get told every day that we are just inmates. We are treated like meat and are their entertainment. Being able to control other human beings who cannot defend themselves, tends to bring out the worst in a person. Look at me, I can degrade this person and there is nothing they can do about it. Men and women officers alike.
If you are strong and can overcome the negativity you face yourself and do your best to live a valuable life. It is the biggest challenge of most of the women here. And I can tell you a big percentage don't live knowing they are valuable human beings. A lot fall into the drama of cigarettes, drugs, fighting and money. Just like the streets but in prison.
I believe, as I have said before, that prison can be an opportunity to become who you are-a loving and spiritual being. That is what we all truly are at our core. We are a spark of the divine. You can't try and be good and good happens. No, we are born with love and goodness already within us. It is just about rediscovering it. I don't care what anyone says-NO ONE is born bad. Things happen to cause us to shut down that part of us.
Humans condition each other. It's like who decided that some people were ugly? There wasn't ugly until humans said there was. Our Creator did not create ugly. No one is dumber, prettier or better than anyone else. Humans decided that and look at all the problems it has caused. We lost our way. We lost our heart. We are all equal.
So, being that we are here for something wrong or bad; we need to recondition to ensure those behaviors and thoughts are understood and then retrained to practice better decision making and behavior. In otherwords, we need to find our way back to our true home inside-back to our heart. When you come from your heart, you cannot do wrong. I just wish women here could be mentored and cared about so they can find their way back to themselves. Instead they are beaten down some more. Made to feel less than; unworthy of any respect or kindness.
And by the way we are still doing a GoFundMe (link) for indigent women for summer packages. Ordering starts May31st. The info is on my mom's website www.inmateslivesmatter.net.
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