Prison Activism Now: Connections

Founded in 1998 by a former prisoner, Connections works for “any positive change” for at-risk populations including prisoners and former prisoners, homeless youth, people infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C and with intravenous drug users. Connections’ services include support for prisoner re-entry, Hepatitis C education and HIV counseling and testing.

Background: Founded in 1998 by a former prisoner, Connections works for “any positive change” for at-risk populations including prisoners and former prisoners, homeless youth, people infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C and with intravenous drug users. Connections’ services include support for prisoner re-entry, Hepatitis C education and HIV counseling and testing.

In 2005: Connections assists people with planning for their re-entry into the community. In a typical month, they are working with close to 200 prisoners or former prisoners. Every month, Connections corresponds with approximately 170 people in prison about their re-entry needs and plans. Prisoners will be anywhere from 1 month to 1 year away from release, and need referrals to potential employers, mental health clinics or medical clinics, addiction and recovery resources, and of course, affordable housing. Once they’re released from prison, Connections will help them with transportation or following up with referrals. In addition to the prisoners they’re corresponding with, Connections is working with an average of twenty-five former prisoners a month.

At the same time Connections is doing re-entry support, they are registering people to vote and also collecting contact information so that they can keep people informed of key issues to get involved in. With over 2,500 people on their mail lists, Connections is able to mobilize large numbers of people who have been directly impacted by the corrections system in Montana. Earlier this year, Connections initiated a letter-writing campaign to let Montana Governor Schweitzer hear from people opposed to the DOC proposal to ship prisoners out-of-state to relieve overcrowding. At the moment, the plan is on hold, but is likely to re-surface in 2006. Connections plans to be mobilizing people in support of community-based treatment and community-based re-entry programs that focus on keeping the prison population down, relieving the need to expand the prison system or ship people away from their family and community.

This profile originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2005 issue of Justice Matters.