Homemade card samples -pick your thank you gift

 Yes, new fundraiser time- we are offering a homemade card of your choice for any donation= samples below=pick a style and email me with the message and picture you would like and your address and I will have the prisoner you choose, make and send me the card and I will forward it to you-

yes, cumbersome but it will mean a lot to the artist. 

here is the link to the gofundme site where this new Fundraiser resides: www.gofundme/prisonforum

and the sample cards:Colors are much brighter and most have glitter- my printer does them no justice.

there are more to post and I have to learn how to othis better.

Albert Webb

you're my Rose

thinking of you

Thomas Swanson

Amanda Galowski

I thank God for you

This Colorful page is me testing out all the paints you sent me

David Barnes

Hi, My friend

Thinking about you, My Friend

Joel Ritchie

Joel ALso make beautiful three dimensional cards, "popup cards" of flowers etc. These cannot scan

Juanita Acker

Kelli Schaal

Lupe Medina

( will redo rotated)








Pravene Khara

( will rotate)

Russel Smith also does beautiful pop-up cards- again, I know of no way to scan them

 

Still swamped but much happening and good blogs linked here

 Where most FFUP blog action is these days:

https://ourprisonersspeak.blogspot.com/

Lots happening- 

here is latest newsletter- a mini one for now, also squinched and meant for prisoners.

mini newsletter 7-26

https://docs.google.com/document/d/171-hZILnYbcr2fSZs9A_uKj54_eqbmye/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114804634685206258159&rtpof=true&sd=true

I promised in latest newsletter that I would have petition and all kinds of stuff on the web to help our campaign for justice roll out. It Just got to prisoners after almost three months between writing and arriving but still I did not get time for blog work- STILL always swamped.

Part of the problem is that I have no indication that anyone reads the blogs I do put up. 

If you are here, Please email me and let me know what your  concerns are:

MY EMAIL:

pgswan3@aol.com

IN Sum, this is a shout out to any one who does come here to this blog, to let me know you are here- that you came for the petition, asked by an imprisoned loved one, or however you  heard about this.  I will FIND the time if I think there is any interest out there.

And another  big big need is someone to help spread the blogs and gofundme websight, help me figure out what to post- where the interest lies

An hour a week on any of FFUP's undone chores would help immensely

reports from prisoners and posts for individuals

a big project  I sometimes get to is posting reports from prisoners - these I sometime find time to post because it  helps me organize. Right now, CCI is a big deal and many prisoners are reporting on that debacle - and we are investigating just why there is no real mental health treatment in the WIDOC_ why , even when you are seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist- there is rarely any real human to human interchange. Why those therapists that do really exchange, do not last. 

HERE IS LINK TO latest newssletter, written in November,( went to security director, volunteer printer and colators and then text behind) delivered finally just now.

1)Newsletter 2 26: BRIDGE OF VOICES 2 26

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3OQcYhADWVwO8Vkysx3ssTRO02uO9LB/view?usp=sharing

2 Other current blogs-good but behind

2)OUR PRISONERS SPEAK- EACH PRISONER IS GIVEN A BLOG POST_

Also some attempts to gather by issues

https://ourprisonersspeak.blogspot.com/ 

3)Here is a start of a more concentrated gathering of issues 

https://prisonforum2.blogspot.com/

October 22, 2024

 

Check out ew blog -under construction: www.ourprisonersspeak.org

FFUP has been under siege and we are finally finding our way forward. The newsletter we sent out in July  disappeared until early October when they started dribbling into my home labeled "unacceptable mail"and now there are stacked here-lots of money and work. The had been approved by the interim Security director of the DOC and we had sent a 200 copy newsletter thru this way successful in the spring-testing this method out. The DOC has agreed to order Textbehind to accept our PDF file of the updated newsletter and send it in- we need to hear form anyone who receives it to make sure the order is complied with.

here is link to original newsletter .It has information on what we are doing as well as addresses to write , instructions on exhausting remedies and this summers Waupun news articles.:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zrCAL8VGU_XMIkU4UhSxcpXFjuhPQS3S/view?usp=sharing

An here is updated version , done about  a month ago- which is about 4 pages replacing july ones. The rest of the pages I took from those returned of the july batch. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDl0ZlIGk9zlvg2aiWpf2bmULBTs74aq/view?usp=sharing

 

1) Revitalizing our campaign:

  new blog of prisoners writings .Each prisoner who wants it ,gets his/her own post where he or she can add writings whenever they want. After introducing themselves to readers they can send writings on anything and are encouraged to help us educate you the reader on what is really going on behind the walls.

Our families group gains strength and will soon be doing media interviews- families for prisoners speak of their experience with the WIDOC and the trauma the present systemic corruption in the system gives them. 

We will be gathering all this information into reports on issues and will go to legislators  and the courts to get systemic changes. the success of this is depends on our building a power base strong enough to counteract the tough on crime rhetoric that paints all prisoners as murderers , rapists and /or terrorists.

SEE BLOG: www.ourprisonersspeak.org.under construction. The prisoners are listed in alphabetical order in a box on right side of the page..

2)With Textbehind and the new email ""getting out" FFUP is almost complete shut out from communicating with prisoners. I get tons of letters but my letters back take three weeks, That the newsletter did not get in was a big  blow. and a lawsuit on textbehind generally becomes inevitable . corruption is total in our systme and retaliation important.our Destress project has become a vital way to help rpisioners cope- they get relief form the stress and the knowledge that we are and they are not alone.Donations are much needed. see our gofundme page:

If you want to attend our families group- it meets by phone conference and here are the numbers for getting in. :Families for a Second Chance WEEKLY Phone CONFERENCES- 

MONDAYS 6pm/ Wednesdays 5PM

Here are numbers:

getting in: Phone number :267-807-9495

you will be welcomed and asked for 2nd number:#:I.D. 568-065-540

announce yourself as you enter. hope to see you there.

If you are the first one there- here is the host pin to open the site:7568.

contact me with questions:

Peg Swan

Founder, Co-director FFUP

Forum for Understanding Prisons,  501c3 non profit

pgswan3@aol.com, 608-536-3993

29631 Wild Rose Drive; Blue River, WI 53518

 

FFUP UPDATE july 2024

SUMMER BRIDGE OF VOICES PART I, our newsletter, is now on its way to prisoners. It will take two to three weeks to get there but will be  followed by part II quickly. This, we hope, will help us finally get enough hands -on support so we can get the prisoners stories out to the public. 

We  need to focus on this now because IF we are going to change anything in this system, we have to debunk the lies about who we are locking up and how we are treating them. The lies have been so sweeping and long lasting that the politicians and courts are afraid to release anyone who's release isn't mandated by law. We cannot even those dying out on compassionate release no matter how many doctors' reports are signed.. Governor Evers touts his many pardons but he has pardoned NOONE from prison. Only those who have been out of prison for at least 4 years are eligible for pardon under our Governor's rules. EVEN tho he campaigned on halving the prison population, he has blocked all legitimate attempts at doing so and his edicts have torn our heart out many times since he took office. 

With prisoners , their families, and the help of the Media, we have been forming a coalition and at least the tip  of the  ice berg of WIDOC corruption is showing. Below are links to our newsletter, BRIDGE OF VOICES and letters written so far to EVERs and the new DOC Secretary.

 Pasted in full below is  FFUP's letters to the Senate committee that is meeting this week ( week of  July 7,2024)in an emergency meeting on corrections. Write your own letter and help s build a movement !

Latest Newsletter: Bridge of Voices Summer 2024 Part one:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EfB89D1rtIncGmn0jHsr9x2p7tiuNDzf/view

 FFUP to the new WIDOC Secretary Jared Hoy 7 24:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_pDC-pZLTKp6OAYApQnIKSy8UTimKUkf/view?usp=sharing

 

Tim Zilstra to Governor Evers 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12EH3nLt1biamzq1AiaVOjUPQ4HoFbTVw/view?usp=sharing

 

Senate Corrections Committee:

RE: ideas To discuss at upcoming meeting on Corrections

 

Hello,

I have been working with prisoners and their families for over two decades as part of a non-profit. I am writing you as I understand you will be having an emergency meeting on Corrections this coning week and I feel it is important that I share with you some of what I have learned.

Over the decades I have seen the mission of the WIDOC change from one of rehabilitating prisoners and keeping the public safe, which it did to a large extent, to one that does that in name only. It looks like its mission today is more like money making (off the taxpayer), damage control, and duping the public and you senators. All this started with the Clinton Crime bill in the 1990’s and that has brought us here- where no one wants to work in the DOC unless they make a fortune and those that are caring, find that even with the money, they cannot work there. The saying going around is that the WIDOC warehouses only. For many, especially the mentally ill, it is far worse than that- It is torture and prisoners often leave severely traumatized.

Below is a letter I wrote recently to Secretary Hoy which delineates the steps I and my compatriots believe need to be taken for real healing. The problems with our corrections system will not go away with the tearing down of buildings or reshuffling prisoners- You may be able to placate the public for a while, but I challenge you here to do your job and lead us to a new era of honesty and of working to genuinely fix our problems. Please read the letter. In it  I also call for leadership from our new Secretary . Through two decades of prisoner bashing/exaggerations, the public has come to believe prisoners, (all of course rapists and murderers,) are unredeemable. We need to reeducate ourselves and the public on who we have locked up and on our responsibilities toward them.

The prisoners I know want help, they want training and treatment but are stuck in an unending loop of deadtime and negativity. Many are scared that they will go home back to the same neighborhoods they came, with neither training or treatment and with no support.  Is this what we taxpayers are paying billions of dollars for? Please help us lift the curtain and show the public the deeper systemic mess the system is in and help us forge a way forward.

Main Points on our wish list:

1) Reduce population: reinstate real parole for old law prisoners and end Truth in sentencing, changing it to an effective parole system.

2) End revocations without felonies and give grants to non-profits for the setting up of new support networks and connecting with existing housing for newly released prisoners.

3) Mental health treatment is the essential core of WIDOC responsibility since that is where our country is putting the mentally ill. A wide ranging and courageous discussion needs to be had on this issue. Look to Colorado for guidance and our own Rick Raemisch (see attached letter) .

4) Actually rehabilitate: Hire teachers and trainers and ex- prisoners - our prisoners WANY TO LEARN TO BE BETTER and DO BETTER!

 

Thank you for your attention, I  hope we can all work together on this most needed project.

 

 

Peg Swan

Founder, Co-director FFUP

Forum for Understanding Prisons, 501c3 non-profit

pgswan3@aol.com, 608-536-3993

29631 Wild Rose Drive; Blue River, WI 53518

 

ADDRESSES TO WRITE-A START

 ADDRESSES TO WRITE-A START

USDOJ contact info:

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section

950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20530

(202) 514-3847 or 1-855-856-1247 (tollfree);Telephone Device for the Deaf:(TTY) (202) 514-0716

Email:Special.litigation@usdoj.gov/web:civilrights.justice.gov

 

Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

Established in October 2011,OIG consolidates all program integrity, audit, and fraud investigation activities into one office. It protects Wisconsin taxpayers by tracking and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in public assistance programs administered by DHS, like Medicaid, FoodShare, and Family Care. At the same time, OIG's internal audits protect the accountability of DHS programs and operations. Since its beginning, it has saved taxpayers millions of dollars. Staff works closely with other state and local partners to identify misuses of public assistance funds, and where appropriate, forwards fraud cases to federal, state, and local officials for prosecution.Misuse of public funds affects each person who lives in Wisconsin.

Contact OIG

Send an email to: DHSOIGAdmin@dhs.wisconsin.gov/1 W. Wilson Street, Madison, WI 53703

PO Box 309, Madison, WI 53701-0309/Call us at: 608-266-2521

 

2023 WI  LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES dealing with corrections issues

 Mailing Addresses:  Senate:P.O. Box 7882;Madison WI 53707

Assembly:P.O. Box 8952;Madison WI 53708

 Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

Senator Wanggaard (Chair)/Senator Jacque (Vice-Chair)/Senators Wimberger/ Knodl/ James/ Roys/ L. Johnson

Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families

Senator James (Chair)/Senator Cabral-Guevara (Vice-Chair)/Senators Ballweg/ L. Johnson/ Carpenter

 Assembly Committee on Corrections

Representative Schraa (Chair)/Representative Bodden (Vice-Chair)/Representatives Brandtjen/ Brooks/ Callahan/ Hurd/Maxey/ O'Connor/ Sapik/ Tittl/ Stubbs/ Goyke/Cabrera/Clancy/ Madison

 

Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Representative Spiros (Chair)/Representative Schutt (Vice-Chair)/Representatives Duchow/ Novak/ Green/ Donovan/ Schraa/ Steffen/ Wichgers/Sortwell/ Drake/ McGuire/ Emerson/ Stubbs/ Madison

 Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties

Senator Hutton (Co-Chair)/Senator Roys/Representative Goyke

Especially interested in Today’s Corrections problems :

Rep. Ryan Clancy,  (D - Milw)/District 19/(608) 237-9119/(888) 534-0019/Rep.Clancy@legis.wisconsin.gov

Rep. Darrin Madison,  (D - Mil)/District 10/(608) 237-9110/(888) 534-0010/ Rep.Madison@legis.wisconsin.gov

 

Governor Evers:P.O. Box 7863/Madison WI 53707/EversInfo@wisconsin.gov/608-266-1212

Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes/PO Box 2043, Madison, WI 53702-2043

 

 

 

DOC LEADERSHIP

Jared Hoy, Secretary

Melissa Roberts, Deputy Secretary

Sarah Cooper​, DAI Administrator

Stephanie Hove, Assistant Administrator
Paul Kemper, Assistant Administrator

 

Jessica Y. Gross, Director of Health care Administration
Vicki R. Gould, Assistant Director of Healthcare Admin

 

Dr. Daniel LaVoie, Medical Director

Dr. Angelo Panos, Dental Director

Dr. Jeffrey Anders, Psychiatry Director

Dr. Kevin Kallas, Mental Health Director

Dr. Marlena Larson, Psychology Director

Hannah Utter, MSN, RN, CCHP, Nursing Director

Rebecca Kehoe, Pharmacy Director

 

PO Box 7925
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 240-5120 Main

BUREAU OF OFFENDER CLASSIFICATION AND MOVEMENT

Angela Hansen, Director/PO Box 7925/Madison, WI  53704/(608) 240-5811/(608) 240-3310 Fax

For those  incarcerated non citizens wanting to go home to country of origin :

Wisconsin State Contact for International Prisoner Transfer

Statute 302.185.  Transfer to foreign countries under treaty. 
If a treaty is in effect between the United States and a foreign country, allowing a convicted person who is a citizen or national of the foreign country to transfer to the foreign country, the governor may commence a transfer of the person if the person requests. ( Detailed instructions from the USDOJ web available)

 

Addresses for news outlets reporting these day on the WIDOC

1)WPR and PBS Audience Services, WisContext, 821 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706.

Joe Schultz

Sarah Lehr is a state government reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio.Sarah.lehr@wpr.org,

2)WISN /james stratton:”James Stratton is a nationally recognized investigative reporter and anchor with a history of storytelling that leads to change” James.Stratton@hearst.com.Wisn 12 hotline 414-937-1212

3)Wisconsin watch ( WI Center for Investigative Journalism)
P.O. Box 5079/Milwaukee, WI 53205/Office phone: 608-262-3642/

Vanessa Vasquez/Mario Koran/Todd Richmond

4)MSJ ( milwaukee Jounal -Sentinal)Vanessa Swales:vswales@gannett.com /414-308-5881/

Letters to the editor addresses

1) Write a letter to the editor for you local newspaper

2) Letters to the editor Capital Times: Send to tctvoice@captimes.com ;1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53713 ;Main number: 608-252-6400 Fax: 608-252-6445

3)WI State Journal :For letters to the editor, contact letters editor Phil Hands, 608-252- 6123, phands@madison.com.

Other:News tip\Phone: 608-252-6120/Mail: P.O. Box 8058, Madison, WI 53708;For local news, email wsjcity@madison.com or call 608-252-6120

4)Milwaukee Journal sentinel ;Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0371/Email: jsedit@jrn.com

5)Green bay gazette Submit letters via: forum@greenbaypressgazette.com ]Green Bay Press-Gazette,

 Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 23430, Green Bay WI, 54305-3430

AND KEEP REPORTS TO reports coming:Reporters

Remember, they may not respond but they WILL read your stuff- just like me, everyone is swamped. The

addresses are those of the news corp- make sure you indicate reporter clearly.

1)State Journal: Lucas Robinson: lrobinson@madison.com /WSJ, 1901 Fish Hatchery Rd ,Madison, WI 53713

2)center for investigative Journalism: Mario Koran:mkoran@wisconsinwatch.org ;Wisconsin Watch,P.O. Box 5079,Milwaukee, WI 53205

3)Milwaukee Journal Sentinel :Drake Bentley:414- 391-5647/dbentley1@gannett.com, Vanessa Swales:vswales@gannett.com,T: 414-308-5881/http://www.jsonline.com /Mailing address: Journal Sentinel P.O. Box 371 Milwaukee, WI 53201

4)Shawn of Milw Channel 4 WTMJ/ news@tmj4.com ; WTMJ Radio 301 W Wisconsin Ave, Suite 200 MilwWI 53203