Learning together
Radio: Deep Cuts To IL Prison Books Budget Could Drive Recidivism: WBEZ 
In the early 2000s, the Illinois Department of Corrections spent an average of $750,000 a year on books for prisons. Last year, it spent just $276 dollars. Research suggests that’s not a winning strategy for preventing recidivism because many inmates rely on books to figure out how to reshape their lives after their release. 
Listen to segment - 13 min.
Article: Changing Inmates, Behavior With Architecture : Fast Company
​Denmark’s new prison has a grocery store, workshops, and lots of glass. It looks more like a college campus–and that’s the whole point.
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Article: Does Solitary Make Inmates More Likely To Reoffend - Frontline
“It leaves a scar on you that you won’t forget and you can’t heal … you get flashbacks and anxiety,” he said of solitary.
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Article: Solitary by the Numbers :: Frontline
Solitary confinement goes by many names: restricted housing, segregation, isolation. Prisoners are separated from the general population, held in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day, for at least 15 consecutive days.
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Self-led Learning page lists historic offerings and more to help deepen your knowledge.

UUPMI Calendar

April
Tuesday, April 24th PenPal Training
CLF Ambassadors & congregations :: 6:30 - 8 pm
​send an email if interested
​
Sunday, April 29th Radical Hospitality
First Unitarian Church (Hyde Park)  :: 10 am

Other events you should know about

Taking Action for Criminal Justice
Sunday April 22, 2018 :: 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm
St. Chrysostom Episcopal Church - 1424 N Dearborn St, Chicago
Worships in: - Bail reform - Advocacy - Prisoner Support - Reentry Support - Restorative justice - Congregational Organizing - Supporting those who have been imprisoned

5th Annual Incarcerated Mother's Day Vigil and Toiletry Drive
Sponsored by Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration
Saturday, May 12th :: 12PM - 1 PM
Cook County Jail - 2600 S California

​​Cook County Jail Voter Registration​
Voter Rights Group is looking for volunteers to register voters at the Cook County Jail each month, on:​​​
May 13 2018 3-6 pm 
June 10 2018 3-6 pm 
July 8 2018 3-6 pm
Click here to sign up
All volunteers must complete a Voter Registrar training. ​​

Our Mission

We equip UU's in Illinois to ​transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex.  Read More
We need your help! We can sustain this ministry only if we have the support of people who care about our shared humanity with people in prison. Your contribution will help fund our quarter-time minister’s salary, benefits, and travel costs, plus the costs of our education offerings to congregations.

The In Prison Ministry works to create a spiritual space where all people can come as they are and be affirmed in their inherent worth and dignity, no matter their identities or past harm they may have caused. 

The outside work of the UU Prison Ministry focuses on preparing our congregations to become radically welcoming places for formerly incarcerated and convicted people. We embrace the call of Unitarian Universalism to make our congregations accepting of all people.

​The Prison Ministry will also connect UUs to local and state-level policy  initiatives that seek to build a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all.
Our Donate button will take you to the website of our fiscal sponsor, the Unitarian Church of Evanston (UCE).  Please be sure to specify that your donation is meant to support the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois, so we get credit for it.  UCE is a 501(c)3 organization, so your contributions are tax-deductible.
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