Please join us on Monday, October 18th at 6:30 pm for Prison Pipeline on KBOO Community Radio as we talk with Kayla Victor, Barbara Allen, and Julia Lazarek about the International Prisoner's Family Conference happening this week online.
The Prisoner's Family Conference was started 14 years ago by Carolyn Esparza, a social worker in Texas who was looking for an opportunity to make a difference. The first-ever conference was held in El Paso, Texas when Carolyn saw the tremendous need for families of prisoners to connect. Carolyn was working at the time with juvenile offenders and underprivileged kids and wanted to make a difference for those kids and their families. Today the conference is one of the largest conferences connecting families of incarcerated persons together for support and mutual aid.
Barbara Allen's husband went to prison in 1966 for murdering his father in an alcoholic blackout which left Allen at home with two children and a husband in prison. She started a support group that has grown into the Prison Families Alliance and 50 years later she is still offering loving support and caring. Barbara Allen wrote a book about her experience called, "Doing Time on the Outside."
Julia Lazarek became involved in support when her brother went to prison and died while he was serving his sentence. Julia describes her experience as, "serving his sentence with him, alone." Julia started collaborating with people who wanted to have support groups and help people. Recently she has merged her group Friends and Family of Incarcerated Persons with Barbara Allen's group into the newly formed Prison Families Alliance to reach out and help individuals and families experiencing the incarceration of a loved one. Julia hosts the podcast, "Prison the Hidden Sentence" now in its second season, and has written a book with the same title.
Prison Pipeline is a radio program dedicated to educating the public about the Oregon criminal justice system. Our goal is to present a unique understanding of the criminal justice system, address the root causes of crime, and challenge the status quo. We seek to promote awareness and activism in order to foster a safe, healthy, and just society. Tune in every Monday at 6:30 P.M. to hear our hosts Karen James, Adam Carpinelli, Amy Johnson, Emma Lugo, Doug McVay, and Isabelle Sinclar explore the Oregon justice system with a variety of guests.
Prison Pipeline on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prisonpipeline/
Please feel free to connect with us with any questions, comments or suggestions at kbooppc@gmail.com
International Prisoner's Family Conference https://prisonersfamilyconference.org/
Prison Families Alliance https://prisonfamiliesalliance.org/
- KBOO