1/ I'm a frontline worker in a setting no one much cares about: A jail. Jails aren't prisons. Most inmates are there on petty charges; some are there for short sentences or to pay off fines for time served; most are awaiting sentencing, some for very serious violence charges.

2/ Many, many jail inmates who are there on petty charges (i.e., criminal trespass while looking for a place to sleep) have severe mental health issues (i.e., Schizophrenia, severe Bipolar..); many are homeless.
Most inmates, these days, also have severe substance abuse issues...

3/...and multiple health issues. Many regularly flow from jail to community ER's, to homeless shelters & encampments, & back to jail again. Even the cleanest jails have crowded conditions & poor ventilation. No room for social distancing for imates or staff. Those of us in...

4/... correctional health are often exposed to all kinds of diseases & the only time we hear from the community is when some usually privately-run facility does something terrible & we all get labelled as uncaring hacks specializing in care denial. Trust me, few hacks last long..

5/...where I work. Most I know in frontline Jail health (can't speak for prisons) are there precisely because they do care about people the rest of society has thrown away. Now, we are in the middle of a pandemic & from what I am hearing from around the country is that...

6/...most jail plans for COVID-19 don't include personal protection equipment #PPE for anyone except those working closely w/ Confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of course, #WhereAreTheTests So now we go to work every day knowing it's no longer really an "If" one of us will get the virus-

7/--inmates, staff, mental health, medical---it's only a matter of When one of us will get it.
So why should you care if you don't have a parent, brother, sister, cousin, etc. in jail? You should care because you have a jail somewhere near you. ONE big outbreak in a jail....

8/....will equal Overwhelm in Your local hospitals. You might want to start asking questions about your jails (& your homeless shelters). What's their plan? Does anyone have #PPE? Are they being allowed to use it? Are there enough beds for truly functional intake screening units?

9/ Is anyone getting tested? Are staff being screened? Are there enough staff of all kinds? Is there a plan for an outbreak that takes out large numbers of staff? What about quarantine units? Are inmates & staff being educated about the virus? Adequate soap & accessible....

10/...handwashing facilities for both inmates & staff? Is deep cleaning being done regularly or do blood, vomit, and feces linger for long periods from sick or withdrawing inmates? Is anyone pushing to release inmates who present no risk to society but are being held because...

11/...they have no one to post a $25 bond? Please start asking these questions. For all of our sakes. We're all about to become newly aware of just how interconnected we are. One unmasked contagious cough away from each starting our own great big piece of this pandemic.

12/ Please be aware that everyone on the frontlines anywhere who is keeping things going from the mail to the food chain to EMT's, doctors, nurses, hospital cleaners, clinic staff, homeless shelter staff & food bank workers & frontline workers in places you have never thought...

13/...about are all laying their lives on the line when we go to work each day. And most of us are lacking the basics we need to keep ourselves safe & to keep safe those we serve & ultimately, You. Stay home if you can & speak out for us. Please.