Right Down the Street or a Few Towns Over

There’s a women’s prison not too far from my house. I would suspect that you might have a prison, jail, or immigration detention center not too far from you, too, but it may be somewhat out of view. Even though this prison is nearby, I went several years before I went down the street in its direction and noticed it there. And then, it was easy to forget again. That is equal parts on me and on systems that make it so. Every once and a while, I would hear something about conditions there and this would be back on my radar.

Now there is a major public health legal case. Women have suffered there for a long time. I decided recently to sign up for a Google alert about this prison. I also added the immigration detention center in my state. Now I get articles delivered to me, letting me know about difficult conditions in both places.

These are not pleasant emails to receive, but they’re important. We know that some people end up in these places for minor infractions. And even with they are far from minor — quite serious, even — no one forfeits their worth or their need for human rights. They shouldn’t lose adequate healthcare. These are often public health crises, right under our noses, purposefully placed out of view.

I encourage you to discover which jail, prison, or detention center is nearest you and set a Google alert to learn more. Know the truth; tell the truth.

—Renee Roederer