Upcoming Events
Keep an eye on our calendar to stay up to date with upcoming events and actions!
Community groups are encouraged to submit events to the calendar by emailing torontoprisonersrights@gmail.com.
Beyond the Bars LA 2022 Conference
Beyond the Bars Los Angeles is a convening of system-impacted people, scholars, activists, educators, policymakers, and artists engaged in the international decarceration movement.
Join this conference on Zoom.
Monthly Organizing Meeting
Please join the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project monthly organizing meetings. We use these meetings to share information about the conditions inside prisons and jails, and take collective action to demand prisoners’ justice.
This meeting will be held on Zoom. Please sign up to receive the link to join.
Abolitionist Book Club
Join our Abolitionist Book Club. Sundays, bi-weekly, hosted on Zoom. Now Reading: Jesse Thistle’s “From The Ashes”.
Contain COVID, Not People - Day of Action
DAY OF ACTION: Please join us at the Toronto East Detention Centre on Tuesday, December 28 at 12 pm to call on the Ontario government to contain COVID, not people.
Winter Clothing Drive
WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE FOR RECENTLY RELEASED PRISONERS: Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project (TPRP) is collecting new and gently used winter clothing to support those released from Toronto South Detention Centre.
Understanding Law, Community & Community Lawyering: What Does It All Mean?
ONLINE FREE EVENT: What does "community lawyering" mean? What role does law play in movements? What does solidarity look like?
Abolitionist Book Club
Join our Abolitionist Book Club. Sundays, bi-weekly, hosted on Zoom. Now Reading: Jesse Thistle’s “From The Ashes”.
Vigil for Soli
Fighting for Justice - 5 years on. Join Us - Vigil for Soli. It's been five years since Soleiman Faqiri was beaten to death in an Ontario jail.
Holiday Pop-Up with Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction
Gift the gift of community safety this holiday season!
Join us and our friends, Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction at their new studio and gallery Native Arts Society for our first-ever holiday pop-up! Together we will be selling merchandise, art and much more!
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
All Members Monthly Meeting
Are you interested in getting involved with the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project? Join us for our monthly All Members Meeting!
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project (TPRP) does most of our organizing online over Slack and Zoom, which means you can be involved with us from outside of Toronto. To get involved with us please send us an email to torontoprisonerrights@gmail.com for more information.
There are a wide variety of ways to get involved. You can do as much or as little as you like and we can support your learning. We look forward to organizing with you!
About Us: Toronto Prisoner’s Rights Project is a volunteer organization of former prisoners, people with loved ones inside, front-line workers, artists, researchers, educators and students. We engage in direct action, public education, and mutual aid to shed light on the harms of incarceration and connect prisoners with social, financial, legal and health supports. We are committed to abolition and building sustainable communities rooted in community care and transformative justice.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Wychwood Barns Farmer’s Market
TPRP will be sharing a table with SURJ at the farmers market. TPRP will be selling merch and promoting our mutual aid initiatives, while SURJ will be handing out flyers and discussing their campaign to defund the police.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Jessie Thistle’s From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have continued to resist colonial and carceral violence since the arrival of European settlers on Turtle Island. As we struggle toward freedom, we are committed to working alongside and taking direction from the original caretakers of this land. This memoir offers important insights into the ongoing harms caused by colonization and provides us with a foundation to continue to struggle in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in Turtle Island and around the world.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings can be closed-captioned. We encourage everyone to participate in the group meetings regardless if they’ve been able to complete the readings.
How Our Meetings Work
We select a volunteer to chair the discussion and we take turns using a speakers list. At the start of each discussion, we ask for initial reactions: What stood out to you? What did you learn? How are you feeling? Then, we see if anyone has any discussion questions for the group.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
Prisoners Justice Day 2021
Please join us for the Prisoners Justice Day Memorial at Holy Trinity located at 19 Trinity Square in Toronto. There will be a vigil in solidarity with those who have died while incarcerated as well as to show support for prisoners’ rights.
On August 10th between 5-8 pm at Church of the Holy Trinity (19 Trinity Square) former prisoners and their loved ones will share their stories and truths. There will be activities, music, performances, food, swag and more! We encourage folks to show up to demonstrate solidarity with prisoners and those impacted by incarceration. No one is free until we are all free.
This event will be live-streamed here on our Facebook page.
Abolitionist Book Club
Book Club Selection: Mariame Kaba’s We Do This ‘Til We Free Us
The work of abolition is a labour of love that is rooted in a collective struggle toward building other futures in which everyone and everything is cared for in the ways that they need to be cared for. Our collective struggle involves learning, unlearning and relearning together; meeting each other where we are at; helping each other grow, and building our capacities and skillsets to support one another.
Deliberate censorship, lack of transparency, and the favouring of certain ways of knowing inherent in institutions from prisons to schools result in significant information gaps about the direct ways that they continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer, trans, poor and other targeted communities. And until those communities are safe from those harms, no one is safe.
Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project’s Abolitionist Book Club aspires to fill in those gaps by reading about abolitionist struggles together and creating a supportive space to collectively think through how to apply what we learn to our own advocacy, relationships, and lives. We will be reading and discussing Mariame Kaba’s We Do This ‘Til We Free Us in honour of the foundations that Black feminist and queer liberation movements continue to build for us all. This book offers critical guidance for community care and mutual aid that is necessary to building abolitionist futures.
Accessibility
Our reading group meetings will be automatically closed-captioned and a transcript will be available.
Registration Form
To get access to the link to join our bi-weekly meetings please sign-up on the form below.
DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING IN SOLIDARITY WITH PRISONERS
Prisoners across Turtle Island have been fasting to call attention to their human rights violations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We invite you to join them in a day of prayer and fasting on Wednesday, March 24th.
Join the Toronto Urban Native Ministry for a multi-faith vigil, to listen to the words and voices of Prisoners, pray with community leaders, hear the healing heartbeat of the hand drum, and engage in acts of solidarity.
The multi-faith vigil will begin at 12:00 noon EST and be broadcasted on Facebook Live.
FREE THEM ALL: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
March 20 marks one year since the first prisoner in Canada contracted COVID-19 at the Toronto South Detention Centre. In the last year, more than 6,700 COVID-19 cases were linked to prisons and jails - including 4,971 prisoners. We know that the numbers are much worse than reported because of a lack of testing and inconsistent reporting practices. Despite persistent calls to take immediate action to avoid preventable deaths, our government is failing prisoners. The virus has spread like wildfire, and the conditions inside have only worsened.
Prisoners, their loved ones, frontline workers, and community members have continued to demand immediate action to avoid preventable deaths.
We demand:
Immediate releases with adequate support to ensure housing, food, and income support;
Immediate Public Health measures implemented to improve conditions inside and address prisoners well-documented concerns;
Equitable access to healthcare for all prisoners;
Immediate action to address and respond to the numerous accounts of human rights abuses (i.e. punishment tests, excessive lockdowns); and
Immediate action to address the overdose crisis.
For more information please contact us at freethemall2021@gmail.com
Schedule:
10:30 AM: Set up by volunteers at Maplehurst CC
11 AM: Rally at Maplehurst Correctional Complex
12 PM: Car caravan departs from Maplehurst CC to Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC)
12:30 PM: Set-up by volunteers at TSDC (different setup than one at Maplehurst)
1 - 2:30 PM: Rally at Toronto South Detention Centre (keep in mind there is no access to washrooms etc.)
It is difficult to get to both of these locations for many of us. Prisons and jails are designed specifically to take people away from their communities. We encourage you to join the action at a prison or jail, but if that is not possible, please organize something in solidarity with prisoners in your community.
More details to follow. Sign up for a reminder below.
Prisoner Emergency Support Fund Art Auction Part II
SUPPORT PRISONERS IN ONTARIO DURING COVID-19
Recently released prisoners need access to funds for housing, food, clothing, and physical and mental health supports. Families who still have loved ones behind bars need funds for expensive phone bills and canteens.
This fundraiser supports prisoners re-entering the community and those that are still behind bars during this crisis.
To donate money directly visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/prisoner-emergency-support-fund
Auction information:
1. To make a bid for an Online Silent Auction item, simply enter your bid amount in the comment section under the item description. The opening bid on each item must be at least the minimum bid. Each subsequent bid must follow a minimum increment of $5.00. Any bids not adhering to this format will be declared invalid and voided.
2. Once the auction is declared closed, the highest bid entered on the comment section that adheres to the designated increment shall constitute the winning bid and will so be marked. In the event of a dispute, Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project will act as the final authority.
3. The winning bidder will be contacted, asked to fill out a Google form to arrange shipping, and asked to send a screenshot confirming donation to the gofundme account. Items can be picked up in downtown Toronto, sometimes dropped off in town, or mailed plus a standard shipping fee to your address. In some cases, artists / donors will cover the shipping costs.
4. Payment for items purchased must be made in full.
5. Any item left unclaimed will be offered to the next highest bidder and sold.
6. By bidding in the Online Silent Auction, each bidder agrees to these auction rules. TPRP reserves the right to add or withdraw items, without notice, to or from the Online Silent Auction. Auction item purchases are final. No returns or exchanges will be issued. All items are “as is”.
7. TPRP provides no guarantees, warranties or servicing of auction items.
8. If you have items to donate, fill out this form and we will get in touch! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftQDjyNMd1Qhd-sUKA6h9E4qRydMNEud2PzdAaZdd204wKtA/viewform?usp=sf_link
9. The auction will close on July 12 at 9pm for all items.
[Banner image by Alison Imrie - buy her piece in the auction!]
We Keep Each Other Safe: A Community Forum to Organize Alternatives to Policing
Watch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This event will be live-streamed with captions and ASL interpretation.
Give a statement at the forum. Read the full call to action and register for the forum here: https://tinyurl.com/communityforumTO
--
Recent murders of Black and Indigenous people have left so many of us in a state of mourning and rage. Many of us are looking for ways to protect and support one another beyond this moment. The last few weeks are fueling and giving urgency to the longstanding call to defund and abolish police who receive $1.076 billion in funding representing approximately 12% of Toronto's budget. These conversations have led to countless discussions between friends and family about the need for a community-led alternative to policing. While these discussions are not new, we can use this moment to move forward and build an abolitionist movement that protects us all. No one should be in a position where they are forced to call the police to protect their loved ones.
This call to action is for an online community forum (i.e. community meeting) to discuss creating a community-led alternative to policing in Toronto/Tkaronto. This forum is open for all members of the community to watch the discussion unfold. Still, the forum will limit participants in the conversation to folks that sign-up and have been reviewed. This process accounts for potential supporters of the police and other racist trolls.
This forum is for those living in Tkaronto (Greater Toronto Area) which is Mohawk for where the trees grow in the water. This land is the traditional territories of the Mississauga's of the New Credit, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinabe on Treaty 13 lands which are also subject to the Dish With One Spoon Treaty.
IMAGINING A COMMUNITY-LED ALTERNATIVE TO POLICING
A community-led alternative to police would serve as a strategy to limit the influence and power of police in our community without relying on politicians to do what is right. This alternative is based on anti-racist, decolonial, gendered, and intersectional approaches. Leaders throughout history, most notably the Black Panther Party, have organized alternatives, like what we envision in this call to action. Today we see impactful examples like the Bear Clan Patrol (see a link to their website below) serving communities in Winnipeg.
In this pandemic, communities across Tkaronto have responded to create massive mutual aid projects that are feeding, housing and resourcing one another without the support of the government. We are already proving that we can take care of each other.
An alternative to policing would require volunteers and participants to receive adequate training. These pieces of training can include, but not be limited to, mental health first aid, first aid, crisis intervention, non-violent communication, suicide intervention, naloxone training, police observing and sexual violence disclosure and support. We can use online platforms to host facilitated conversations with volunteers interested in participating in the discussion and partner with trusted organizations to develop and deliver training.
WHAT WILL WE DISCUSS AT THE FORUM
• What would a community-led alternative to policing need to include to be effective and accountable?
• How can we centre disability justice and the principles of universal access in this community-led alternative?
• What do we need to consider when we are engaging volunteers and participants that would serve as respondents to calls for support? What kind of training should we provide to volunteers? What trusted community organizations can support this training?
• How can we prioritize the safety and wellbeing of people participating in this community-led alternative?
• What do we need to consider when bringing together a group of people responsible for creating this alternative to policing? Who needs to be reflected in the group of people working on creating this alternative?
• How should this group of people make decisions and engage the public?
• How do we make sure this alternative is sustainable?
If you have additional questions for consideration, please include them at the end of the registration form.
WHO SHOULD SIGN-UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FORUM
You should sign up to participate in the forum if you want to respond to the questions listed above.
We must be prioritizing the voices of people that are usually targeted by police and state violence and oppression. These voices include, but are not limited to, people who are affected by racism, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, poverty, experience homelessness, and people who use drugs. We ensure that no one is left behind when we make decisions considering those of us that are most at risk of violence. We ask that people in positions of power and privilege consider amplifying and supporting the voices of communities that need this support.
We must create space for a diversity of experiences. This forum values all levels of experience and expertise. This forum will prioritize regional representation focusing on over-policed and surveilled neighbourhoods, often referred to as "at-risk" neighbourhoods.
Everyone that signs-up to participate in the forum will receive a response explaining whether or not you will be able to join. If we deny your registration, we will attempt to offer some explanation.
HOW TO JOIN THE FORUM
Complete the registration form linked below. We will send invitations to the forum by email once we have had an opportunity to go through the list of registrants. You will be able to join the discussion using your computer or by dialling in. If you require anonymity during the forum, you can select that option on the registration form.
We will be live-streaming the discussion on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter folks to watch and participate.
HOW THE FORUM WILL BE ORGANIZED
People who register will be scheduled to share their thoughts on the questions listed above. Each participant will be given between five (5) to eight (8) minutes to share their thoughts.
There will be four panels of eight people each that represent the voices and experiences we are attempting to prioritize. Each panel will last approximately fifty (50) minutes. These panels will listen to the participants who are sharing their thoughts and provide feedback and help guide the conversations.
We will publish the list of panellists on June 14 along with their scheduled block for the forum.
A NOTE ON ACCESSIBILITY
It is imperative that we are centring disability justice in this work. At the moment, we are working on making the following considerations:
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and closed captioning will be made available
For folks without access to computers or the internet, we are looking to provide resources and support to ensure participation
If we require additional accommodations to ensure your participation, please indicate those needs on our sign-up form linked at the end of this document.
HOW INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WITH CAPACITY CAN SUPPORT
To ensure that people can participate in this forum, we will need your support:
Please identify the needs of people in your community to be able to participate in this discussion and let us know how we can ensure participation from members of your community.
You can provide access to computers and the internet for people without access.
You can support simultaneous translation solutions for the forum and any materials that follow.
We require funding to pay for ASL interpreters and third-party captioning.
Publicly endorse the forum from your organization.
If you can provide any of these supports, please complete this form.
Contributions and support form: https://forms.gle/HCDdaa7igp6GffMi7
WHAT WILL FOLLOW THIS FORUM
We will share a recording and transcription from the forum online. The recording will be accompanied by an action plan and an announcement of the working groups that will be tasked with moving forward to create this alternative.
PARTICIPATE IN THE CONVERSATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the discussion on social media using #WeKeepEachOtherSafe leading up to and during the forum. Feel free to respond to the questions posted above or share resources for people in your community to help imagine a world without police.
REGISTER FOR THE FORUM HERE
Please use this form to sign-up for the forum. We will be closing the registration on June 14.
Registration Form: https://forms.gle/Q3vZrWbsugA2DxxWA
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This call to action was released by the Toronto Prisoners Rights Project. We are a group of activists, frontline workers, and family members who are organizing campaigns and mobilizing support for prisoners. We are committed to prison abolition as a long-term vision for our prisoner justice work.
Webinar: Defund Police and Prisons
Watch on Facebook Livestream and Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89542240946
Promoting Accountability, Meeting Needs and Transforming Communities Without Cops, Courts and Cages
The murder of George Floyd has sparked a national and global movement calling on local jurisdictions to defund their police. This demand is not new and is in response to a long history of deadly racist police uses of force. In Canada, as in the U.S., police interactions with Black, Indigenous, and racialized community members, often end in death. The recent deaths of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, D’Andre Campbell, and Chantel Moore at the hands of police called-in for ‘wellness’ checks have sparked similar calls to defund police in Toronto.
Given the increased global attention to defunding police and prison abolition, this panel brings together organizers, activists and people with lived experience from across north-Turtle Island to discuss the basics of police defunding, community alternatives to police, and ultimately, prison abolition. Together, we will learn from past successes and ask - what does defunding police mean in action? Where should resources go instead? And how can we care for each other and ensure accountability in a world without police?
Speakers and moderators to be announced.
Webinar: Black Liberation and Abolition
Watch on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89542240946
The fight for prison abolition is deeply connected to Black liberation. Black people make up only three (3) percent of the general population, but ten (10) percent of the prison population. This overrepresentation does not stop at incarceration. It is present at every level of the carceral system, including carding, pre-trial detention, plea bargains, length of sentence, segregation while detained, denial of parole, and length of community supervision. There can be no prisoner justice without racial justice and no racial justice without prisoner justice.
Black communities throughout history have been leaders in the movement to abolish prisons and demand justice for prisoners. Their works have informed prison abolitionists around the world - highlighting not only the dangers of the carceral system but providing transformative models for alternatives.
In this webinar, we will hear from Black community leaders who will reflect on the history of Black liberation and abolition, and learn about the movements being led by Black people here on Turtle Island.
#BlackPrisonerLivesMatter #AllBlackLivesMatter
SPEAKERS
⭐️ Viviane Saleh-Hanna, Professor and Chairperson of Crime and Justice Studies at UMass Dartmouth
⭐️ Ashanti Omowali Alston, Black Liberation Army & Black Panther Party
⭐️ Sandy Hudson, Black Lives Matter-Toronto & Black Legal Action Centre
⭐️ Robyn Maynard, Abolition Coalition; Author, "Policing Black Lives"
⭐️ Morgan Switzer-Rodney, Black Lives Matter-Vancouver
⭐️ Moderated by Syrus Marcus-Ware, artist, activist, scholar; BLM-TO; Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project; Abolition Coalition
Prisoner Emergency Support Fund: Fundraising Auction
SUPPORT PRISONERS IN ONTARIO DURING COVID-19
Incarcerated people are at a disproportionate risk of contracting COVID-19. Unsanitary conditions, close quarters, frequent physical contact, and the underlying chronic health conditions of many detained people, contributes to the spread of the virus and threatens the well being of prisoners and public health.
Alongside incarcerated people, communities across the country are calling for the depopulation of federal and provincial prisons to protect the safety and wellbeing of prisoners and our communities. Many provinces and territories across Canada have started taking measures to depopulate their jails and prisons safely. However, prisoners that are released do not have adequate support for their transition.
Recently released prisoners need access to funds for housing, food, clothing, and physical and mental health supports. Families who still have loved ones behind bars need funds for expensive phone bills and canteens.
This fundraiser supports prisoners re-entering the community and those that are still behind bars during this crisis.