For information, contact Chris Dornin, 228-9610 or cldornin@aol.com.
CONCORD – How do you volunteer at a house of corrections? What are the risks in helping prisoners keep their sanity and religious faith? What do you say to immigrants fighting deportation in a county jail? Why are people of color far more likely to go to jail than whites?
Five experts will answer these and other questions on April 28 at a workshop on jail volunteering entitled, “Just Visiting.” The free program runs from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Concord. Co-sponsors are the NH Council of Churches and the Reconciliation Commission and the Prison Concerns Committee of the NH Episcopal Diocese.
Maggie Fogarty of the American Friends Service Committee will describe issues related to immigrant detention and the work of the NH Immigrant Visitation Program at the Strafford County Jail in Dover. She will also share opportunities to provide support for detained persons, including as volunteer visitors.
Atty. Ron Abramson of Manchester represents clients fighting deportation. He will explain how to help these people too.
R.N. Van Wickler and Erica Nye of Cheshire County Jail, Kara Wyman of Merrimack County Jail, and Keith Gray and Tamara McGonagle of Belknap County Jail will recruit volunteers to work with men and women under similar stress.