Due to an ice storm, the People's Hearing is rescheduled for 1:00 pm on Wednesday, February 12th. This is the date of the Appropriations Hearing for the Department of Corrections, who, according to Corbett’s budget proposal, will receive an additional $78 million in the 2014-2015 budget. So this will be a great time for us to come to Harrisburg with our own message that PA should build communities, not prisons.
The Hearing will still be in the Rotunda at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, and buses will be leaving at 10am sharp from the Youth United for Change offices at 1910 N. Front Street.
If you registered for the free buses to the People’s Hearing, please let us know if you can still make it on February 12th by emailing us at decarceratepa@gmail.com or calling (267) 217-3372.
Sorry for the weather delay, and we hope you will join us on February 12th!
Join Decarcerate PA and many others on February 12th at the Capitol in Harrisburg for a People’s Hearing on prison expansion. Pennsylvania is currently spending over $400 million to build two new prisons in Montgomery County. The two prisons, named SCI Phoenix I and II, are the second most expensive construction project in the state's history.
We now know that the Department of Corrections lied to legislators in order to justify these unjustifiable projects. The legislature has so far refused to investigate, so we are holding our own hearings to demand that prison construction be stopped and the DOC held accountable.
Instead of investing in mass incarceration, Pennsylvania should be investing in education, healthcare, jobs, community based reentry, and social services. Instead of building more prison cells, politicians should engage in meaningful sentencing reform to reduce the prison population and bring people home to their families and communities.
People's Hearing starts at 1:00 in the Capitol Rotunda. Buses from Philly leave from the Youth United for Change office at 1910 N Front St (near the Berks Stop on the Market Frankford Line) promptly at 10:00 am.
Since we had to change the date due to winter storms, we now again have room on the buses! Buses are free but you have to register by going to http://decarceratepa.info/peoples-hearing-registration or by phone at (267) 217-DEPA.
Can't make it on the 12th but still want to support? Consider making a donation to help us pay for the buses. You can donate at http://decarceratepa.info/donate.
The People's Hearing is cosponsored by a growing list of organizations, including:
Philly Student Union
Youth United for Change
The Center for Returning Citizens
Juntos
Boat People SOS
Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project
ACT-UP
Haverford College: Rethink Incarceration Group
University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia at Temple
Up Against the Law Legal Collective
Prison Health News
Philly Independent Media Center
National Lawyers Guild- Philadelphia Chapter
National Lawyers Guild-Temple Chapter
Philly Survivor Support Collective
ExitUs Reentry
Global Women's Strike
Payday Men's Network
Every Mother is a Working Mother Network
AIDS Policy Project
Human Rights Coalition
The CHARLES Foundation
DreamActivist PA
1LoveMovement
Reconstruction Inc.
Books through Bars
Teacher Action Group
Artists for Recovery
NAACP of PA
Fight for Philly
Aids Policy Project
Art for Justice
Point Breeze Organizing Committee
MoveOn
Neighborhood Networks
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools
ACLU of PA
African Redemption Church
If your organization would like to cosponsor this event, please let us know! We can be reached at decarceratepa@gmail.com or by phone at (267) 217-DEPA.
Hope to see you there!
Decarcerate PA
To download flyers, click here!
