ago in Boston Social justice organization to support currently/formerly incarcerated people who are LGBTQ and/or living with HIV Started grassroots & budgetless Grown to have large base and several staff Database history: Started with a spreadsheet Moved to Google Sheets (need simultaneous volunteer edit access) Moved to Zoho Creator (relational database) in 2012, implemented without expert support Added custom API to auto-update prisoner member (PM) addresses by scraping prisoner websites Engaged volunteer coders to make custom database using Django (progress but incomplete) Hired developer to custom code penpal matching platform in Django (near completion) Desire to have more flexible & user-friendly platform to encompass entire organization
in almost every prison in US, some jails Roles: B&P prison chapters Prison chapter leaders Prison chapter members B&P Newspaper recipients PM penpals send snail mail & “email” (Jpay, Corrlinks) to FW penpals PMs send B&P a lot of snail mail: ABBYY forms with personal data (which staff scan, process, export to CSV) letters with data, newspaper submissions, & requests
letters to B&P with handwritten submissions to newspaper Typed by volunteers and included in next issue 8 issues per year ~14,000 print copies, print & digital versions Print versions mailed to list of PM and FW members Each issue has some variation, about 4 versions sent to different lists based on criteria E.g. PMs in FL have special notice to FL prisons, PMs opt-in to receive special insert
PMs & FWs based on multiple criteria Example criteria: “Send Newspaper = Yes”, “Status = Incarcerated”, “Hot Pink Erotica = “Requested & Not Rejected” 2. Keep track of who received which issue of the paper 3. Collect typed newspaper submissions, associated with PM 4. When newspapers are returned due to incorrect addresses, easily update status & address information
used to create a PM penpal profile FW members browse online list and select PM penpal(s) FW penpals are provided address information of selected PM penpal(s) FW penpals email us to say they are no longer writing with someone, we update it Current system: Clunky, have to write down your selection and enter it on separate page Tedious, volunteers have to manually update penpal match status when we’re emailed Some chapters have their own spreadsheet-based matching systems Custom system in development: Based in Django, almost ready to be deployed, more like dating match site
browse potential PM penpal profiles, select who they’d like to correspond with, and be provided their address 2. Ways to randomize and filter list of potential PM penpals a. E.g. the list of potential PMs should be in a randomized, changing order b. E.g. if a PM penpal has 3 FW penpals, they are no longer shown on the list c. E.g. if a PM penpal is in solitary confinement, they are prominent on the list d. E.g. if I want to search for bisexual people in Wisconsin, multi-filter feature 3. Ways to manage FW penpals a. Ability to self-update contact information & disassociate with PM penpals b. Cap number of PM penpals each FW penpal is able to have 4. Mail integration a. Ability to write letters to PM penpals on our site, which are then automatically mailed to the PM penpals
each month Categorized into: Seeking general information about B&P Seeking penpals Updating address & profile information Updating if PM has been released (or escaped☺) Requesting advocacy or support Groups of volunteers & staff open each letter and update database accordingly ABBYY Flexicapture forms New approach for address & profile information Standard form mailed as insert in B&P newspaper PMs carefully fill out form, mail to us, we scan the form, process in ABBYY, export data
Simultaneous editing different records by groups of volunteers & staff b. Allow custom API to update addresses of prisoners based on web scrape c. Add & edit PM information imported from ABBYY Flexicapture files d. Low priority: add images to PM profiles (pictures of PM and snapshots from ABBYY forms) 2. Track incoming mail a. Each letter or form has separate record 3. Ticket system for advocacy requests a. Classify request type (E.g. “Prison healthcare”, “Legal referral”) b. Assign to staff or volunteer c. Check when completed 4. Snail mail outbox to acknowledge receipt of letter a. Create list of PMs who recently sent mail which was entered into system. We’ll use that list to send template postcards “Hi we’ve received your letter and are addressing it”
in Omaha, NE Using grant funds to house ~24 formerly incarcerated trans women Supporting in job search as well PRIORITIZED FEATURES 1. Track housing supportees 2. Track payments 3. Track grant funding
Grant funds used to bail people out (reduces harm from staying in prison, increases odds of favorable court outcome) PRIORITIZED FEATURES 1. Track bail funds provided (we do not ask for them to be reimbursed)
2019, B&P ‘absorbed’ a “National working group of LGBT and HIV criminal justice” (NWG) Quarterly convenings of participants in DC Several ‘working groups’ have discussions and run campaigns around particular topics Expenses are tracked using Expensify & Quickbooks PRIORITIZED FEATURES 1. Track participants in NWG meetings 2. Track expenses from NWG meetings (this may not be necessary)
Creating a space where youth are supported in investigating their background, perspective and connection of their historical relationship to LGBTQIA2S+ people. Sex Education and Prevention Many LGBTQIA2S+ youth are left out of comprehensive sex ed programs and training. System involved youth don't have the support of a parent or trusted adults to access to sex ed and STI/HIV prevention. Leadership Development We believe that leadership skills are inherently possessed by LGBTQIA2S+ youth. We will reframe, reaffirm and amplify these skills in the youth who access our program. Self-Awareness and Analysis We will work on self-evaluation, regulation, and assessment with the youth. Lived experience is a value area to do reflection and education that is authentic. Through various exercises, we add tools that support the youth in being the steward of their wellness and development.
to B&P through blackandpink.org/donate, which routes them to ActBlue Also receive some donations via PayPal and check PRIORITIZED FEATURES 1. Link with ActBlue (they have webhook, or could import CSVs) to track who is donating, how much, and when 2. Report that lists donors so we can contact to thank them 3. Chart to see how donations are trending
compilation email to large list of free-world people Link at bottom to Unsubscribe from list We send mass emails via MailChimp I think we can embed a MailChimp signup on our website PRIORITIZED FEATURES 1. Create spreadsheet of Names & Emails of donors / volunteers / penpals that can be imported into MailChimp
years, B&P has facilitated volunteer-hosted Holiday Card Parties Each year averages ~350 parties and about 27,000 cards mailed Card party hosts (“hosts”) sign up online through a google form, and indicate the date of their event and how many cards they’d like to write to our PMs We then facilitate mailing them a batch of pre-addressed postcards Last year, we had the batches printed & mailed through Staples At the parties, hosts have guests fill in postcards, and then mail them to PMs We then solicit feedback from the hosts on the logistics and experience
done in Google Forms, Google Sheets, Gmail) 1. Enable hosts to sign-up for parties online 2. Export lists of PMs to populate batches of pre-addressed postcards 3. Track hosts over the years (many repeats, some do not) 4. Ticketing system (?) to ensure that hosts receive their cards on-time 5. Gather feedback from hosts
the US Occasionally send bulk mail to PMs in their chapter-affiliated prisons Some chapters in large states (CA) work with a subset of prisons in that state Some prisons have restrictions on the mail that can be received Chapters also try and match local people with penpal PMs in their state Currently do that in person with paper printouts, and then type into database Instead, want to have people do it online directly Chapters also send out birthday cards We have birthday of some members We have an “age” field, but it’s not updated as the years progress Zoho can filter list based on several criteria, but one option per field E.g. can do: City = “Detroit” & Faith = “Pagan” but can’t do City = “Detroit or Cleveland” & Faith = “Pagan or Witch”
PMs affiliated with a chapter 2. Auto-create mailing labels (e.g. Adobe 5160) based on list of PMs affiliated with chapter 3. Filter PMs with “or” criteria within a field (maybe via checkboxes instead of radio boxes) 4. Ability to create list of PMs whose birthday happens in a particular month 5. Track mailing restrictions for each prison facility (e.g. no colored envelopes)
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