email : Webview : A New Way to Try to Curb Generational Incarceration

Last week, community and city partners gathered at the SF County jail for a community opening of new child-friendly visiting room where parents can be parents, children can be children, and families can take steps to end intergenerational incarceration. Together, the San Francisco Financial Justice Project, the San Francisco Public Library, the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition, and the San Francisco’s Sheriff’s Office transformed an old storage space into a vibrant visiting room with a colorful bee-themed mural, books, toys, board games, stuffed animals, and more. The visiting room was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU, and Univision.

Research shows that maintaining familial contact is not only the humane thing to do, but has also been shown to reduce recidivism, improve health, and behavior among incarcerated people. Maintaining contact with loved ones is also critical for families and children of incarcerated people, who are often the “hidden victims” of incarceration. Children face an increased risk for mental health challenges, substance abuse disorders, and are more likely to be incarcerated than their counterparts. However, meaningful contact between families and children can reduce the negative impacts, to both the incarcerated individual and their loved ones.

The new visiting room includes a colorful bee-themed mural created by William Palmer, who is formerly incarcerated and is now the executive director of Life After Next, a re-entry program for formerly incarcerated individuals. William is also a member of the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board and a member of the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition.

This new space is a culmination of so many people and organizations coming together to collectively transform the room and builds on past efforts to support currently incarcerated people maintain their dignity and connections with their loved ones through free jail phone calls and the elimination of commissary markups.

Thank you to all of our partners, including community organizations in the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition, the San Francisco Public Library, the Harry Potter Cursed Child Production who donated furniture and rugs for the room, the One Family Program, and the San Francisco’s Sheriff’s Office.

Yours in Financial Justice,

Anne, Cecilia, and Michelle

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