Cells Dividing
A two-phase project intended to interact with Whatcom County's Justice Project Oversight & Planning. Each step in the Cells Dividing plan is designed to further inform the approach and structure of the following steps.
Jailbreaking Cycles in Service to Living Community
Phase 1 : Systematic Study of Carceral Impacts
1.
Impact of Crime & Incarceration
Systematic literature and data analysis of carceral systems, justice, and impacts on communities and families.
Systematic study of financial burden on local budgets.
Interviews with notable organizations, both local and national, and carceral program management.
2.
Anti-Recidivism Programming
Identify existing types and benefits of approaches, programs, and conditions with best outcomes for families, communities, economy, and civic cohesion through systematic literature analysis, data analysis, case studies, and interviews with notable organizations, both local and national, and carceral program management.
3.
Carcerality in Whatcom County
How do known challenges and existing best-practices translate to Whatcom County?
Map study findings to local community through demographic surveys, lifestyle mapping, correlation of local challenges and issues, and understanding incarceration pipeline.
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What circumstances and conditions result in incarceration? Can they be changed? How?
Emergent qualitative work, such as individual interviews and focus groups, within the local population focusing on first responders, jail and hospital facilities staff, service providers, and community members - particularly those who have been incarcerated, are incarcerated, have family impacted by the carceral system, and those who have been impacted by crime.
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Community workshops or other events designed to build rapport and relationships across class and demographics, aiming to create more cohesive neighborhoods and program approaches situated in local concerns and culture. Individual stories will be highlighted along with opportunities to co-create generalized strategies and ideas. This will initiate the development of design cohorts for Phase 2.
Findings will be systematically coded to identify themes and possible modalities to disrupt recidivism cycles.
Phase 2 : Program Development
4.
Program Design
Using the information gathered in Phase 1, above, and executing a series of Participatory Design and Human-Centered Design sessions, strategies and programs will be developed - with an emphasis on community-centered resources that offer worthwhile work, resourcing, stability, and pro-social identity development. Following are limited examples of possible outcomes from Phase 1, though specifics will not be determined until that work is complete.
a. DIVERSION (pre-booking)
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Identify at-risk groups and develop better services at appropriate scale to address issues confronting them. This could be more adequate housing, better support networks for mental health crisis, youth relationship-building programs, etc.
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Determine gaps in communications or systemic structures resulting in unnecessary warrants, or barriers to court appearances or compliance (due to work or transportation challenges, for example).
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Not jailing citizens for low-level, non-violent crimes.
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Addressing inability to meet bail.
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Identifying skill barriers or possible corruption within the policing system, particularly as it impacts people of the global majority and lower income citizens.
b. RECOVERY (post-booking & incarceration)
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Behavioral Health systems that move beyond medications and behavior improvement plans, appropriate to individuals and their contexts.
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Trauma-informed systems.
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Cultivating a positive sense of identity and possible community within and outside of incarceration.
c. RE-ENTRY (release)
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Targeting first night out: rides, reliable community to receive people, clothes, a place to stay, etc.
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Supporting families and other community members as they support those released.
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Removing barriers to work, housing, and healthcare. Providing necessary resources, such as proper identification, and a culture of support, such as destigmatized community involvement.
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Peer-Peer mentorship programs.
5.
Funding
​Gain long term or permanent funding.
Develop organizing entity to execute programming.
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The Cells Dividing plan draws on a team of people from various organizations and service providers in an effort to break down silos. Through this project, it is possible that some restructuring of services and strategies may be redesigned to work in concert. The cost-savings resulting from less incarcerated people may be diverted to other, more adequate, services and needs in our community.
6.
Iterative Cycles
& Relevance
​Revisit programming and track case studies over time. Determine a feedback pipeline and revision schedule to ensure programming remains relevant.