Director’s Update: March 2024

Written By Joseph Jackson

Operations:

  • March operations are on track. 

  • MPAC: Board consists of 6 members, Co-Chair Ryun Anderson, Co-Chair Carla Hunt, Executive Secretary Julian Rowand, board members Jadirah Ortiz, Craig Williams, and Rosalani Moore. 

  • MPAC currently has a staff size of 12 individuals. Joseph Jackson, Jan Collins, Peter Lehman, Joelle Jackson, Darlene George, Brandon Brown, Wendy Allen, Andre Hicks, Antonio Jackson, Linda Small, Sami Basu and Kathy Elliot

  • MPAC: Welcomes our new Coordinator Sami Basu to the team. 

  • MPAC has 11 volunteers leading projects. Doug Dunbar, Jon Courtney, Jamie Peloquin, Leslie Manning, Cheryl Mills, Olivia Hochstadt, Lani Graham, Adriane Herman, Nicole Lund, Sarah Johnson and Art Jones.  Special thanks for their work and dedication.

  • MPAC Mission. Value, and Purpose statements 

  • Our Mission is to support and advocate for Maine’s incarcerated citizens, their families and friends.

  • Our Purpose is to reduce Maine’s use of incarceration by advocating for a criminal legal system  that is ethical, humane and restorative.  

  • Our Vision is of a justice system that is restorative. It supports humanity in every person, and reflects and creates transformation and accountability.

  • MPAC Staff and Volunteers meet as a full team weekly to update and resolve tensions.

  • MPAC staff members are in regular communications with incarcerated residents and formerly incarcerated individuals.

  • MPAC staff meeting in-person with incarcerated residents at MSP, Bolduc, MCC, SMWRC. 

  • MPAC Strategy Meeting is the second Saturday of each month from 10-12.

  • MPAC - Legislative Strategy Meeting every Tuesday at 5:30 pm will become the speaker’s meeting for the summer. 

  • Arts Programming Team - meets weekly Thursday mornings.

  • MPAC Website Committee: is switched to the first Monday each month.

On-going: Advocacy, correspondence, and Direct Dialogue. 

  • MPAC Strategy Meeting - Cuba and Linda facilitated. We worked through our tech challenges. 17 people attended.

  • MDOC - met with Deputy Commissioner Tony Cantillo about continued collaboration on the art project. He requested an outline of the project. 

  • MDOC - met with Deputy Commissioner Tony Cantillo and expressed concern about C pod close. Residents complained about the solitary-like conditions. They named having their tablets taken, they only get 2 hours out  of their cells and often don't get that. The only programming that comes in there takes place during their 2 hours out. They are not notified what they need to do to get out of Close C.

  • MDOC - residents in close C started a hunger strike. MDOC made concessions

  • MDOC- raised a complaint about women not having access to dental care. A couple of women pulled their own teeth.

  • MCC Reentry Center- monthly meetings at the facility are going well. MERN staff Shanna Murphy joining our monthly meetings.

  • MCC Reentry Center- MPAC has arranged for 18 to attend Clyde at the Portland Stage this month.

  • Longcreek- 14-15 detained-committed, 3 girls, Andre is invited to team meetings at Day One. He is working ongoing to all the team meetings. He went to visit a student at Grey-New Gloucester and found the kids were segregated.

  • Quality Housing March 27th is looking for alternatives for youth who age out of the voucher project. Working with Quality Housing to connect returning citizens to housing resources.

  • MPAC - staff continues to support formerly incarcerated individuals in reentry, with transport, peer to peer support. One on one and in group settings.

  • MCC Longtimers - meeting with Longtimers twice a month. Leslie met with unit managers. Darlene is working on a Juneteenth event. 

  • MSP - is under new leadership. Warden Magnuson officially resigned. We requested to meet with the new warden. 

  • MSP-NAACP- MSP is doing Juneteenth on the 28th. Nicole Porter from Sentencing Project is keynote, Joseph will be speaking and Sam James for music.

  • MSP NAACP signed a fiscal sponsorship agreement with MPAC. We are committed to supporting their efforts to obtain grant funding for projects.

  • MERN-  MDOC is responding favorably to reentry planning. MERN has become a contractor with the state for all the specialty courts. Working on application for renewal of the 3-year BJA grant.

  • MYJ - Working with the DA in Cumberland and Sagadahoc on restorative justice with youth and young adults. 

Projects:

  • Reentry Support- MPAC supported 6 people in reentry transition. 

  • Gallery Exhibit Project - planning a  June 7 exhibition at the Meetinghouse Arts Gallery in Freeport.

  • Book drive - Jon Courtney is sending four boxes of books to MVC.

  • Bates -Four Bates students to work on research projects for MPAC this semester. They present their papers this Friday. 

  • MPAC Film Series : Art Film at MSP with Daniel Mintner for the Black Art Film. Not having Dan in the mix means we have lost the communication component of the program. We did not know at the last minute if it was even going to work. There were only two people in attendance. 

  • Reentry Sisters: we delivered a donation of  two suitcases of clothes for women in reentry transition.

  • Resource Organizing Projects: Joseph joining this Affinity Space for Black leaders in New England; Dave Jenkins leads, four meetings. 

  • Justice Radio: two more episodes. Survivor episodes extended to 4. Each of the guests went through a process of Restorative Justice. Listen live at 90.9 WMPG FM or stream online: https://www.wmpg.org

  • For archived episodes, please visit: https://www.wmpg.org/show/sunb/

 or tune-in every Thursday at 5pm for Justice Radio on Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM!

  • Freedom And Captivity - Catherine Besteman leads. DOC has approved participation of incarcerated residents.  https://www.freedom-captivity.org/fc-curriculum-project

  • MPAC'S Speakers Bureau- Speakers Bureau meetings are rescheduled to Tuesday evening 5:30 - 6:30pm of each week while the legislature is not in session. There may be some legislative issues mixed in as this is the usual time for the legislative meeting.

  • Behind the Door Podcast- MPAC Coordinator Brandon Brown co-host with the Executive Director of Recovery Connections of Maine Jeremy Hiltz. Behind the Door Podcast 

  • Beyond the Bars Conference- MPAC Coordinators Andre Hicks, Linda Small, Brandon Brown, and Darlene George attended and presented at the New York conference.

  • MPAC - has decided to contract the women at MCC to create MPAC merchandise.

  • Maine Humanities Council - Linda and Cuba are participating in planning committees for a National gathering focusing on mass incarceration. 

  • Charles Jordan House - project is on-going. The mayor of Auburn is in support of the project. Joseph and developer  Dan Black met with the mayor. The city of Auburn has initiated a process to take the building. The mayor met with the owner Lisa. We are waiting to hear back.

  • MIO: MPAC has joined a Coalition with Maine Inside Out to plan a mural, parade, and block party in Lewiston on Juneteenth.

Communications: 

  • Public engagement is On-track.

Communication Resources: 

Donors/ funders:

  • Grant team meets weekly  Al Cleveland has joined our Development team!

  • MPAC Fundraiser trailer 

  • Sewell: in-person report April 30th. !

  • Maine Community Foundation: grant awarded

  • Onion Foundation: grant submitted!

  • John T Gorman Foundation: grant submitted.

  • Maine Initiatives- applying to their outdoor equity fund.

  • Donors- 16 Donors 

  • Joseph Birthday Fundraiser- raised 628 dollars 

  • Orange Bike Brewing MPAC fundraiser: Tentatively scheduled for September.

  • Highland Green Brown Bag Lunch Fundraiser: Tentatively scheduled for this Fall.

  • MEHAF - MPAC joining their Design Team.

  • Borealis- declined our grant. There was a large number of applicants.

  • Become A Sustainer campaign- A sustainer is a Donor or Supporter who commits to making monthly or yearly donations of time or money to the organization. Sustainers play a crucial role in providing a stable and predictable source of income for us by allowing us to plan and execute long-term initiatives with greater confidence.

Legislative: 

  • Assistant Director Jan Collins leads!

  • This past month in the legislature was very busy for the organization.

  • Jan and Peter testified on numerous bills or commented on issues impacting our constituents in work sessions.

Joseph Jackson https://maineprisoneradvocacy.org
Next

Director’s Update: January 2024