In America, there is a vast, hidden workforce: prison inmates, many deemed safe enough to work with the public, but also too dangerous to release. Thousands of US corporations profit from forced prison labor. If an inmate refuses, they can lose family visitation, be put in solitary confinement, or have their parole denied. Proponents have called it a low-cost alternative to offshore outsourcing.

I was recently released from prison. OSP in Oregon. I'm schizophrenic so they put me in the fuckjng mental health unit where I spent ,thankfully, only a year. I didn't go out to chow. They brought us our food. We didn't get an hour out. We rotted or did nothing in our cells. And to top it all off , this rubbed me the wrong fuckjng way the whole year, in the morning normal prisoners could get coffee .... Well us in the mental health unit got two decaffeinated instant coffee packs. DECAFFEINATED.

The only thing good about that situation was we got paid 100$ a month for going to 1 or more groups for that month.

And get this if you were on involuntary meds and refused them. The guards would suit up in riot gear and either come taze you or pepper spray you(which affected the whole unit and made everyone choke)

BUT there is a good side to everything. Now that I'm out . I don't know if it's my age catching up to me ( I'm only 32) but I've learned to really start paying attention to my actions and behaviours, especially in consideration to others, I'm in an open dorm temporary housing that has people from just exiting prison and on probation who are off the streets staying here. We have 4-5 fridges per housing space and no stove or oven but a microwave. I thought I was gonna be homeless in a strange unknown town. But I was lucky to find this resource and have been so lucky to find the other resources that have made bus travel and affording my cigarettes and clothing vouchers to Walmart possible.

I veered off from an important subject. I think I gained maturity. When I'm interacting with all the people living in the housing space I've noticed a patience and humility. I didn't have that in prison. There were people screaming and kicking the walls of their cells for hours with no consequences and some days I'd shout a bunch of stupid fucked up shit too. I was recently diagnosed as schizophrenic so that's new. It's opened up a future where I can live in a house rather than on the streets or in a shelter.

PLEASE SHARE WITH ME YOUR STORY OF CHANGE