 On June 23, 2023 we wrapped up our 2023 Black Mama's Bail Out campaign. We joined with National Bail Out and other Black led bail funds and organizations across the country to bail out Black women and caregivers for Mother's Day. We were granted $100,000 by National Bail Out and raised $77,730 from individual donors and from art sales by our comrades at People's Paper Co-op. From May 12th through June 23rd, we bailed out 34 Black women and caregivers and posted $395,520 in bail. A huge thank you to everyone who donated or bought dope art!
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 Do you know who’s running for City Council At-Large in the upcoming May primary election?
Better yet. Do you know what and who they stand for? With 37 potential candidates, you might not know too much about them–but don’t worry! The Alliance for a Just Philadelphia has got you covered. In 2019, we held a historic candidate forum where over a thousand Philadelphians came together to hear how the candidates plan to prioritize affordable housing, an economy that centers communities over corporations, the schools we deserve, investment in real safety and so much more in our vision for A Just Philadelphia. We’re gearing up to do it again and you won’t want to miss it! Join Us - Sunday March 26th 3-5pm @ Congregation Rodeph Shalom Register here: https://tinyurl.com/5ams2cbz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contacts: Cara Tratner, Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, cara.tratner@gmail.com, 610-529-1263 Malik Neal, Philadelphia Bail Fund, malik@phillybailfund.org, 267-650-4161 Black & Latinx Incarcerated women speak out, demanding answers & release after dangerous unexplained move to unlivable jail facilities PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 26, 2020) – The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, Philadelphia Bail Fund, Dignity Act Now Collective, and the #No215Jail Coalition are sharing audio recordings1 now from four brave women who asked us to share their stories widely because they want the public to know what they are being forced to endure. On August 10, 2020, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons took the dangerous move of unexpectedly relocating over 100 cis women, trans people and gender non-conforming people held at Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF) to two different facilities with worse conditions, Mod 3 and Alternative Special Detention (ASD). Incarcerated women in these facilities describe deplorable conditions and the high risk of exposure to COVID-19 as a result of a rushed move in the midst of a pandemic. The women were given no warning of the move, leaving family members unaware of their whereabouts and unable to contact them. “They put us everybody in a bus, no social distance. Everybody was together, handcuffed together. The whole bus was full, 2 in each seat,” shared one Latina single mother held on an unaffordable cash bail who is immunocompromised and has bronchitis and asthma, putting her at very high risk of COVID19 complications. “I’m at high risk here because of my health, anything could happen to me, I could die here. I have a 17 year old daughter who’s by herself out there. I’m in major depression, I can’t do this. They are ignoring me and I need to get out of here. My life is in danger, I need your help.” The coalition has heard many similar reports describing ASD as “like a camp” with “no social distancing” whatsoever, with 4-5 people per cubicle and 40+ per unit. In one recording, a black woman incarcerated at ASD pleads, “Just let us out; let us go to our court dates. I just want them to know that everyone who is incarcerated should not be treated like an animal, a dog, or a slave. I cry all day.” Among those incarcerated in ASD are pregnant women who, according to others imprisoned with them, are not receiving even the most basic medical care. The conditions in the other facility, Mod 3, are even more concerning. It was described by multiple people incarcerated there as “unliveable” and “like slavery”. Women have described mildew going on walls, insect infested cells, and unbearably hot temperatures inside. “They don’t have no air, the showers don’t work, they don’t have nowhere you can wash your clothes at, they don’t have nowhere you can drink water at. We’re in our cells burning up,” a Black woman incarcerated at Mod 3 shared. “We don’t even have a hot meal, every meal that we eat is cold. The COs could do whatever they want to us because there are no cameras. We’re locked in 24/7. They need to release us because this is not a way of living, we could die from this place. This is crazy.” She went on to describe fearing for her life when she got no medical attention, despite having COVID symptoms: “I had an asthma attack already and my temperature was up 101. I just want them to know if I pass away before I come home, I want my mom to know I love her, because I don’t think I’m gonna make it, because my asthma is crazy. I already had an asthma attack over here and they didn’t do anything, and I felt like I could die. They just splashed water on me from a hose, they didn’t do anything.” People who tried to speak out about the conditions in the facility were punished by staff and deprived of any time out of their cells. The #No215Jail coalition, Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, Philadelphia Bail Fund, and Dignity Act Now Collective demand answers and accountability, transparency and action. “We demand that the City of Philadelphia release everyone from ASD and Mod 3 now. We demand that the First Judicial District and the District Attorney stop caging people pretrial and that Mayor Kenney and the City of Philadelphia permanently #ShutDownDC. We believe the only way to safely close the Detention Center is releasing people, not putting the lives of cis women, trans people and gender non-conforming people at risk by moving them into worse conditions with no ability to socially distance in the middle of a deadly pandemic.” Testimonies*Note: PCBF is on a brief summer hiatus starting July 17, 2020. Since March 16, we've been doing emergency COVID-19 bailouts. Over the past 4 months, our small mostly volunteer team has posted $2,191,750 in bail to free 237 people. We've also given the majority of them support including direct connections to housing, paying for rent, utilities, and groceries, and direct connections to mental health services. We have substantially spent down our bail funds and are taking this hiatus to build up our bail funds and to rest. We are still taking in requests to add to our list, but we will not be able to post new bails for a short while unless they are under $1,000 to post or are an emergency (medical, risk of loss of custody of children, etc.).
 Tomorrow marks 1 week since we officially began our 2019 Holiday Youth Bailout! Our goal is to raise $50,000 this season in order to reunite children locked up in adult prison with their families. We are working with @Yasproject to identify and support children to be bailed out.
As of this morning, we've raised $7,858 in online donations! Thank you! If you'd like to help free a child this season, you can give at phillybailout.com/donate #presentsnotprisons #endcashbail |
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