Decarcerate PA is pleased to announce that today we are launching the “100 Days Instead of Prisons” Campaign. The "100 Days" campaign is a social media effort designed to help us envision a world where resources are directed towards community needs and away from mass incarceration. Each day from now until December 31, we will post an image from our collective imagination of what we would build instead of prisons. Every Monday we will post an action that everyone can take to help move the campaign forward, and every Wednesday we will share a statement from someone currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania. We call on Pennsylvania legislators and Governor Corbett to cancel all ongoing prison construction and resolve to make 2014 a year of no new prisons!
From September 23rd through December 31st, check out the 100 Days Campaign at:
http://decarceratepa.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DecarceratePA
https://twitter.com/DecarceratePA
http://decarceratepa.info/
Tweets about "#insteadofprisons"
At the end of May, Decarcerate PA and our allies embarked on a 113 mile march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg on a March for A People's Budget, Not a Prison Budget. In preparation for the march, and as we walked from town to town, we asked people to create images of what they would build instead of prisons. We affixed these images to hundreds of flags, and marched with the flags to the steps of the Capitol, where we presented them as our version of a people's budget.
Why now?
The state of Pennsylvania is currently spending over $400 million to build two new prisons on the grounds of SCI Graterford, about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. If completed, the prisons will house approximately 4100 people. At the same time, schools and social services across the state have been decimated by budget cuts and lack of resources. In Philly alone, 23 schools were closed this year. Young people are funneled into the prison system, and there are few resources for people coming home. We are demanding that this prison construction project we stopped immediately. We believe in a different set of priorities for Pennsylvania, priorities that value human needs and that build strong communities, not prisons.
What can you do?
We encourage people across Pennsylvania - and around the country - to tell us what you would build instead of prisons! You can post on our tumblr, tweet at us using the hashtag #insteadofprisons @DecarceratePA, share on our Facebook page, or write to us at Decarcerate PA, PO Box 40764, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Help spread the word about this effort by sharing the photos every day!
Participate in the weekly calls to action! Every week we will be posting a specific action you can take to help move the campaign forward. To find out about additional upcoming events, check out our calendar HERE.
Check out our tumblr at http://decarceratepa.tumblr.com
