Pre-conceived notions. We are all guilty of harbouring them. Notions of what we think things are supposed to be. Things like prison, and education. Of what and who the student is, and what and who the convict is.

These notions have many aliases. They can be called assumptions. Generalizations. Stereotypes. Archetypes. Call them what we may; they are dangerous, for they draw the deep lines, framing the societal and cultural confines which keep us all apart. Which keep us all oppressed.

Today, those lines are blurred. No, today they don’t exist. Today there is no distinction between student and convict and education and prison….because today, right here, we are all students. Learning. Evolving. Erasing. Celebrating.

The lesson? Invaluable.

Tearing free from our pre-conceived notions. Breaking down the walls.

Building bridges, building communities. Linking education to rehabilitation. And growing internally all the while.

This is the lesson I have taken from the Inside-Out program. And what a great program it is.

When I first applied, I suspected something very special was beginning here - but I had no idea. And how could anyone understand what a profound experience this is?

This class has a lot to offer.

The voices of the class have a lot to offer.

Each person has given me inspiration. Given me the confidence to do things like this. And hope. The whole class – from its structure, to every person in it – has given me hope. From learning the content, to listening to all your stories and ideas, fears and dreams, I have realized that I am not as alone as I thought I was. That you are all strong and brave people, and that this world isn’t an easy place for any of us.

I have realized something else too. And it’s that we have got to hold onto programs like this. We have got to embrace them, as we most certainly have here. For this class has let us be strong and brave together. It has become a text from which we can reference as we go along our individual endeavours. A tool which we can use together to mend what is broken. And a beginning from which something awesome is blossoming.

And standing here today, I understand more than oppression, marginalization and diversity; I understand liberation too. Because today, I am free. Not in body, but in mind and heart. And that’s because of this class, because of all of you. Thank you.

– [Nyki], student in “Diversity, Marginalization and Oppression”,

Fall 2011, Faculty of Social Work,

Wilfrid Laurier University

and Grand Valley Institution

for Women

Nyki Kish - September 8th 2011

The following web exclusive is a part of the special focus on Canada’s Criminal (Justice) System in the Sept/Oct 2011 issue of Canadian Dimension.

A regression is occurring within our country. The Canadian judicial system is reverting to a “tough on crime” mentality. Longer, harsher sentences are being handed down by the courts. Legislation is passing re-criminalizing previously decriminalized activities. This is being done in the name of safety and security within society. Yet for all the claims these approaches make, what can factually be said for a judicial system that is “tough on crime”? A lot. These types of efforts are not new. There’s no shortage of comprehensive data available to measure the long-term accomplishments of this approach to crime. Unfortunately, one of the most problematic issues with the implementation of such judicial actions is its focus on the immediate, short term results. As history has informed us, that which offers the most stark and promising immediate result often bares adverse, if not dangerous, consequences down the line.

This is no exception.

Yet, perhaps more alarming is how extremely one-dimensional any direct positive attributes actually are. To accept the immediate benefit of the streets being void of crime, one must dismiss the transient nature of this. When the streets are swept, the jails fill, but it would be a misconception at best to assume that crime is down when jails are full.

Canadian prisons are not prepared at all for the increase in inmate population that they are seeing. They are overwhelmed by this flux in sentencing, and as in any healthy situation, balance must be maintained if any hope for success, let alone sustainability is desired.

The judicial system does not stand alone. It is just a portion of a larger institution, so it must function or attempt to function harmoniously with its collective partners. For the judicial portion of the criminal justice system to dole out more than its recipients within the correctional sytem can handle is to doom the entire effort to fail. Yet, this is what is happening.

Despite major red flags and loud cries from voices within the correctional system, this disaster blazes onward! For those of us currently incarcerated, the negative effects of this shift have already surfaced and affected us. Spatial issues have taken priority over all else. Incentive programs proven key to healthy rehabilitation are being removed indefinitely, while the remaining mandatory programs are becoming backlogged. Mandatory programs affect prisoners’ transition through security levels while incarcerated. For example, an inmate cannot move to medium security from the maximum without completing a modular intervention program. There is currently a 3 to 4 month wait time for prisoners to begin this. It becomes extremely problematic as security reviews are completed every six months, and prisoners who would otherwise move to medium are held in maximum, where there is little to do and less space to do it in.

It has long been proven that recidivism rates are drastically lower, some by 32%[1], when inmates are exposed to correctional environments that implement strong educational and behavioral programs. The maximum unit does not, and due to its structure cannot, offer these things. At the Grand Valley Institution for Women, Ontario’s only federal prison for women, the max unit is especially unprepared for such a jump in inmate population. Bunks have been added to six of the fifteen cells and are scheduled to be added in all but three. The cells, designed for single use, cannot adequately house two. They hold one desk and one chair. One inmate is therefore forced to remain in her bed during lockups, which occur from 9:00 p.m. to 8.30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. daily. With most programming only accessible to medium and minimum security women, those in maximum are left trying to fill the remaining hours creatively. Violence is rampant.

One program which has disappeared entirely is the private family visiting program. The private family visit (PFV) program was one where, when accepted, a prisoner could apply every three months to either spend a 24, 48, or 72 hour period in a house-like setting with loved ones. This quality program offered prisoners vital maintenance for outside relationships, not only giving many a sense of cause to carry on, but also reducing the real and harmful dangers of institutionalization that we face daily.

For those who did not have family, or for those needing reflective alone time, a solo version of the program was also available. Though family visits held priority, if none were booked solo applications could be approved. For many, the solo version of the program was just as important. One prisoner, who is now on her 24th year of incarceration, reflected on the loss. “I did both,” she explained, “the solo and the family. Those stays were big important parts of our prison time. The girls used to do everything for that time. It kept a lot people calm and really focused. In all my years I never thought they would take that away from us.”

Both versions of the program have been suspended indefinitely. Yet, though they are the first to go, they are most defiantly not the last.

These are, of course, only some of the immediate effects of our country’s new “tough on crime” policy. If things continue down this path, these problems will surely ripple with the long-term damages surfacing far from the prison walls they originated in. Longer, harsher sentences have never reduced crime. Over-crowded, negative prisons do not promote healthy adult lifestyles. They do not pave paths for rehabilitation. Positive reinforcement does. “Tough on crime” campaigns, in their plainest form, only serve one real purpose—to further the economy of crime. If punitive punishment was not intended, it is a natural sub-effect. Though Canada has in the past invested many resources into the preventive measures and positive reinforcement strategies proven to work, it stands today in regression, and it does so unfoundedly.

Nicole Kish, or Nyki to those who know her, is a talented singer-songwriter, artist, poet, and dedicated community activist. Over the past few years, Nyki founded a non-profit organization dedicated to improving literacy and educational opportunities within Ontario’s correctional facilities. As well she co-founded Bound for Glory, a not-for-profit arts and literary magazine for talented and neglected artists. Sadly, on March 1st 2011, Nyki waswrongfully convicted of 2nd degree murder for little reason other than she was there and was stabbed. She is incarcerated at an Ontario women’s correctional facility.

Notes

• [1] In 2007, the John Howard Society of Edmonton conducted a study which showed that institutions that implemented strong reading and education programs had a 32% lower re-incarceration rate than those institutions that did not.

(Published in Mayday Magazine and on Toronto Media Co-op)

Inside maximum-security prison, life is very unlike what most would believe. The stereotypical image of prison that most media paint, with hundreds of prisoners interacting in large cafeterias, yards, and cellblocks, would in fact be a great improvement to most us here. The jail we know is one of deprivation and isolation.

Six women including myself live in what is known as "pod two". Two other separate but identical pods make up the maximum-security portion of the prisons, each with a total of seven beds. The number was lower, with a capacity of five women per pod, only months ago. However, bunks were recently bolted into two cells per pod to compensate for the rising inmate population, attributable to Harper’s recent and grossly regressive changes to the judicial system.

This double bunking, as it is termed, has created a very tense atmosphere among incarcerated women. The pods were small to begin with, and so an augmented unease has been added to an already claustrophobic environment. At their widest, the pods are no more than 18 feet and are no more than a hundred feet long. Also, there is not proper seating for seven. The steel table, bolted to the ground, that we share has six attached stools, and when seated next to each other, we are shoulder to shoulder.

Indeed, the concept of housing long term prisoners in such a small space was a poor one to begin with, and double bunking is only the first of many additional issues surrounding the maximum unit that need to be addressed.

In addition to the space issues, there is an extreme isolation from inadequate social interaction. Apart from short hourly rounds by the guards and infrequent programs, the only human contact we have is with each other. Being both crowded and alone is psychologically trying to each of us, and each prisoner attempts to adapt differently. We are offered an hour off the pod daily in the evening in the yard, which helps but does not suffice.

They say that the women here are the worst of the worst, placed in maximum for one of two reasons. A woman comes here either because of a conviction of a violent nature or beause of conflict with another inmate. In the five women I live with however, I do not see hardened or violent criminals. I see a fifty-two-year-old woman who has not walked free for thirty-one years who only wants the best for each young girl that comes in. I see a twenty-four-year-old mother of two who cries for her children, and another mother who spends every waking minute on the phone attempting to maintain her relationship. There is a twenty-one-year-old girl convicted at eighteen, who is still young in mind struggles heavily with prison life and lives in constant anxiety. Finally there is another young woman in jail like so many others, because she is native. She is smart and talented and fights for rights in prison, a quality not appreciated by the staff.

Each day, we crowd around our table and acknowledge the difficulties we face living in these conditions. We agree that any human being, jailed and jailer alike, would find this environment trying. We also agree that constructive uses of time would lessen the anxieties that stem from being locked stagnantly up. Not only are the simple things that would presumably be available in prison, such as art supplies not available, they are actually discouraged. Idleness is literally forced, when many would otherwise engage in activity. In fact, in order to partake in simple activities such as drawing or painting, a prisoner has to first find the money to buy the supplies and then sacrifice their daily yard hour to use them in a separate room where they remain locked. Supposedly, permits are available to apply for supplies to be kept in cell, but there is no information on how to do so.

On weekdays, our shower is locked from 10:15 a.m. until after dinner, or roughly six pm. According to Correctional Services Canada (CSC), showering is a recreational and improper use of time. The broom and dustpan are also taken during these hours. These hours are to be spent productively, we are told. Between nine in the morning and six at night, we are expected to work and complete school. But jobs are scarce. There are not as many institutional jobs as there are women, not by half. There are high school level correspondence courses, but the teacher is only available for minutes a day. Worst, and what should be described as punitive, without a job and for those of us who have graduated high school, there is no pay.

Pay is an integral aspect of federal sentence. For example, we are only provided two meals daily. The meals are given in very small portions and often lack substance. They do not provide anything close to adequate nutrition, offering only a fraction of what the Canada food guide recommends from each food group daily. We are expected to buy any other food from our pay, which begins at $2.50 per day, can rise as high as $6.80 per day.

As a vegetarian, a typical day for me consists of a white bun with lettuce and tomato for lunch, with a side of iceberg lettuce; perhaps a few hash browns. Diner might be a bagel with melted cheese on top, and a small portion of mixed veggies. To the contrary on our grocery canteen offers wide array of items available, from trail mix to oatmeal, to vegetable juice. Prices are usually inflated, though there are often sales on junk food. Regardless of price, it is essential to buy, and to be able to afford to buy grocery canteen to maintain some health while here.

Hygiene is also maintained mostly through the canteen. Officially, CSC does provide basic necessities once a month through request forms, but the women on pod two cannot remember the last time forms were honored and supplies were given. Cleaning supplies such as paper towels and disinfectants are provided often, but personal care items such as mouth wash, deodorant, and conditioner must be purchased.

Pay is further important in supporting the high costs of communication with the outside world. Telephone use costs eleven cents per minute, and stamped envelopes sell for just under a dollar individually. There is an inmate welfare fund that each prisoner pays into, offering ten dollars per pay period (every two weeks) for those who have nothing. However, even prisoners on the highest pay level still struggle.

The final product of all this is a room full of very bored individuals lacking any means to use their time well and without many basic human necessities. The maximum security system is failing at every level.

Sadly, many people think that this is okay. If we complain, we are most often met with the popular saying, “you shouldn’t have come to prison then”.

The fact is life doesn’t work that way. There is a never-ending supply of factors that can lead any person to these grim walls. Within these walls much is wrong. I am only beginning to learn how much. There is too large a gap between what our prisons actually are and what most people believe they are. This must change. Society will never be healthy when so many of us know this atmosphere as a reality.

- Nicole Kish at her sentencing on April 4^th. 

 Current mood: so sick of being goddamn framed.

 They tell me I'm a monster,

I should be locked away,

They tell me that I killed a man,

But that’s FAR from the truth, dare I say!?

But wait, the news, they must be right,

They surely know the truth

But not that I did nothing wrong,

to be robbed of my youth.

The masses they convict me,

For few think for themselves.

But I tell you when the truth comes out,

They'll say little but, 'oh well'

"For police they make mistakes, they do.

And, really, she was there,

So they should not be punished,

For causing such a flare."

No, I'll never be a victim,

though I was nearly killed,

I'll just be one more statistic,

Of the police and their will.

Do they think it wasn't terrifying,

when I screamed for them to help??

And the only sanction I received,

was a name now cursed to hell..??

No, It will never fade for me,

and many will never believe,

But ALL of those who were there that sick night,

know more than is perceived.

There's no justice at trial,

the opinion's already been sold;

to those needing someone to hate,

even if the tales rather bold.

And justice will never come to those,

who need to bear its wrath.

No, call me Patsy, its no longer Nicole,

And follow the medias path.

And with my saneness I must pay, 
  
For a crime I did not do. 
  
So robbed of youth and life and love 
And no dreams left worth dreaming of 
I’ve always pulled through push and shove, 
  
But now I’ve surely lost; 
    
I’ve lost the twinkle in my eye 
Accepted my dull green demise 
And finally came to realize, 
  
That this will not erase. 
    
For when I walk the streets again 
I’ll be without my dear best friend 
I won’t know where to start or end, 
  
Without the one I love. 
  
And all for nothing makes this worse, 
What have I done to bear this curse? 
My story saddens verse by verse 
  
As I live these tear filled days. 
   
So I’ll scream out with one last cry, 
I fear so hard, my soul with die! 
For after years without a sky, 

 What fight is there to win?

 -An except from Nyki’s book of poetry, Poetry’s Dead: On Love, Despair, Hobo-ism and Produce-

Then settled snow upon the land, 
Met with the sky, in winding hands, 
Stirring the seas upon command, 
Shrieking my woeful tune. 
  
"O', vast cruel world, mistimed and grim, 
Carry your breeze, and reachith him! 
Fly strong, creep harshly, bellow and sing- 
Unite our pain struck hearts. 
  
O' wind of love and dreams to dream, 
Defy the boundaries to which we lean! 
And when you reach him let love gleam! 
Rejoin our lost, lost hearts!" 
................. 
......................... 
.................. 
Much later in that strange, long night, 
It has been said, and seen in sight; 
That lightening struck that winds fierce fight, 
Somewhere beyond the dawn. 
  
And hence the winds been calm, not shrill, 
Leaves dancing on, consumed with thrill; 
For my heart joined yours then, and is still, 
Beneath the nights bright stars. 

  -An except from Nyki’s book of poetry, Poetry’s Dead: On Love, Despair, Hobo-ism and Produce- 

fear not, less your pockets be empty,

and heed, with haste, if so's the case,

For a broken man, needing, can not so be graced.

And laugh, if so your wallet is full,

and misfortune crossed your path,

for misfortune to a fortuned man,

is a sentence worth really a laugh!

A pity a penny,

a crime for a dime,

injustice is funded,

by the weight of the swine.

For the poor man a lifetime,

for the rich, a few shills,

a pity a penny,

measured sorrows in swills

-An except from Nyki’s book of poetry, Poetry’s Dead: On Love, Despair, Hobo-ism and Produce-

- Spoke Nicole Kish tearfully at her sentencing on April 4^th.