by Nicole Sheree Rowland
If only I had access to the actual statistics; however, from my living experience, an enormous percentage of people come to prison and find out they caught some kind of communicable disease. OK, the prison is now obligated to treat them, that’s all. One would believe treatment to entail education, ha ha!
So how many people are in and out of jail being told what diseases they have contracted, but yet ignorant of how they caught it and how they could spread it?
Of course, harm reduction helps, and of course there is a side that claims it’s enabling, but if along with harm reduction there’s education, could it be “enablement” any longer? Obviously, there isn’t any harm reduction inside prison, but it’s a place where people could be educated about safe use, safe practices and the dos and don’ts of every communicable disease. If the point is made clear, people are going to partake in the list of risky behaviors, regardless, that is their right to be educated and informed of safe practices and increase longevity.
I think it could truly begin a ripple effect that would pour into the streets, where before safe practices put on the back burner would be at the forefront for this group of people. The number of diseases spread would decline and people could focus more on living, loving and healing than worrying about their health.
Even those who have the luxury of never finding themselves in a cell could find an interest in educating the public, telling and teaching the significant number of people spreading diseases because of ignorance. If given the knowledge of what, how, what to do or not to do, as well as regular testing, our people will have a fighting chance.
As a human, despite our circumstances, our addictions, demographics, ethnicity, etc., we all have a chance to live our best lives.
“Incarcerated Insights” are based on handwritten letters that the author sent to Street Sheet from The Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This column has been edited for brevity and clarity.
