NYC Books Through Bars is a civil society that advocates for the rights of prisoners. The organization is based in the United States and works in prisons in Philadelphia, New York, and surrounding penitentiaries. It was incorporated as a not profit institution in 2001 and accepted as a 501(c) 3 charity in 2018 (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). It provides humanitarian outreach to individuals in incarcerated centers and donates books for reading and reflection as a way to enhance knowledge. The main mandate of this organization is to collect books from publishers, community groups, and well-wishers, and match them with the needs of prisoners, according to their request (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). Although prisoners are detained for correctional purposes, the deplorable conditions, violence, and abuse experienced in jails can harden them further, hence the need for interventions through reformative reading and reflection.
Operations of the Organization
NYC Books Through Bars engages with people with different ideologies about the U.S. prison system. The partners include public policy makers, security firms, criminal justice system experts, and the general community for the success of its operations. The organization operates with a team of professionals, especially pro-prison reformists and abolitionists, persuaded by a transformation ideology to advocate for the rights of inmates. It works with political activists, students, teachers, authors, and a pool of various experts engaged in different offices to advance its mission (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). Therefore, through reading and reflection, prisoners develop inner empowerment, which allows them to improve their situation (Bautze, 2019, par. 3). Thus, NYC Books Through Bars brings together professionals as volunteers to build knowledge resource for inmates in various reformatories in the U.S.
Summary of Activities and People
Correctional facilities have limited literature to boost the knowledge and literacy levels of prisoners. NYC Books Through Bars delivers books and other reading materials to convicts as part of correctional mandate of the prisons (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). Prisoners who write letters to the organization appeal for educational resources, such as language books, writing materials, English dictionaries, GED, and math-related resources (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). The group organizes its operations within three core models namely, incarcerated person to incarcerated person, incarcerated person to free world, and free-world-to-free-world programs. The first model seeks to build lifelines and societies through information sharing and books, while the second method connects inmates with community activist outside prisons (“NYC Books Through Bars, 2019”). The third approach integrates packing activities and provides an opportunity for volunteers to gather and express their ideologies of activism, reformism, abolitionism, and projects, which provide a meaningful stay during jail term (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). The organization has taken an integrated approach to ensure knowledge is disseminated to prisoners and their rights enhanced as they serve their sentences.
Outline the Public Policy Areas of Influence
Literacy and access to educational materials is a human right. According to “NYC Books Through Bars” (2019), prisoners should not be denied access to information since it is a significant constitutional entitlement. NYC Books Through Bars influences public policy in the sectors of access to information for all citizens and prison reforms. The organization builds its reformist approaches by facilitating a culture of reading and connecting with realities of life as illustrated in the professional publications delivered to the convicts. In addition, it encourages prisoners to understand their rights and limitations both when they are inside and upon the elapse of their sentences. The organization works closely with partners, such as ABC No Rio and Freebird Books to advance its book delivery objective. Still, it, directly and indirectly, influences policy by widening access to prisons and promoting inmates’ knowledge (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). It also helps the outside world to understand the challenges experienced by prisoners from the letters and proposals they receive from inmates. The organization has helped to repeal New York’s directive 911A, which approved six vendors to provide 77 books to the inmates (Bautze, 2019, par. 5). Therefore, the organization influences various public policies from education, access to information, rights of prisoners, and adult literacy approaches through its activities and initiatives.
Geographical area and contacts
The organization serves a majority of New York correctional facilities and other states. The contacts are:
NYC Books Through Bars
c/o Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street
New York, NY 10002
E-mail address: info@booksthroughbarsnyc.org
Website: https://booksthroughbarsnyc.org/
Volunteers in the Organization
NYC Books Through Bars is an all-inclusive volunteer organization. It provides training and basic orientation to ensure students and other volunteers understand the purpose and activities of the program. The role of the volunteers is to open and read letters, match the requests with correct material, and pack them for deliveries (“NYC Books Through Bars,” 2019). The organization operates on Mondays from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Occasionally, it opens on Wednesdays between 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, depending on schedules and planned activities. Volunteer are encouraged to join and bring heavy packaging bags that are ideal for carrying books to various centers.
References
Bautze, A. (2019). How NYC Books Through Bars is bringing books to inmates. Shareable. Retrieved from https://www.shareable.net/blog/how-nyc-books-through-bars-is-bringing-books-to-inmates
NYC Books Through Bars. (2019). Home. Retrieved from https://booksthroughbarsnyc.org/about/
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