At the end of April, the Prison University Project distributed gift bags to all of the nearly 3,900 people incarcerated at San Quentin. Each one was packed in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, filled with beef jerky, tuna fish, trail mix, a bar of soap, a small pad of paper, envelopes, stamps, pens (or pen fillers, for those in housing units where regular pens are not allowed), and three articles. We also included a letter that explained the package.
We received over 300 letters in response to the effort with a wide range of topics, from purely thank you messages to reports on conditions inside. All of them provide a window into the incarcerated experience during the COVID-19 crisis, and we feel they are important to share broadly. Below you will find a full library of letters from those who have given us permission to publish.
A summary of all our emergency response initiatives is available here.
If you’d like to contribute to these efforts, please visit our fundraising page.
Additional updates from our Executive Director on the COVID-19 crisis at San Quentin are available in the “From the Director” section of our News page.
Please note that the Prison University Project became Mount Tamalpais College in September 2020.
