Yale Undergraduate Prison Project (YUPP)

Our Mission:

The Yale Undergraduate Prison Project (YUPP) is a student-run social justice organization with over 150 members. We believe that the discrimination and dehumanization driving the U.S. justice system is a product of white supremacy and structural racism. Our mission is to challenge the inequities of mass incarceration through service and advocacy, while learning from and supporting others who share that vision. YUPP runs programs at correctional facilities and community reentry centers in Connecticut. Our GED tutoring, seminar-style discussion groups, and mentoring programs impact over a hundred incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals annually. In addition to the educational programs we run each week, members engage in advocacy and activism on a local, state, and national level. On campus, YUPP hosts a diverse group of speakers each semester from fields and disciplines that intersect with mass incarceration in order to promote dialogue and engage Yale and New Haven community members in this work.

Our Activities:

Reentry Job Fair Direct Service We are attending a reentry job fair to support with extra hands, and reviewing resumes of prospective employees. Volunteer duties include reviewing resumes, answering any questions, and printing edits for new resumes. Collaboration Financial Literacy Direct Service We plan to partner with Winning Ways CT to host financial literacy workshops and job fair at their site. Public Library Tabling Direct Service Hosting a table at the partner public libraries to provide visitors with more information about resources available in New Haven for expungement. Informational pamphlets about the pardon process and the Clean Slate Act will be handed out and there will be a sign-up sheet available for those who'd like to be directly paired with volunteers. Tech/Literacy Sessions at NHFPL Direct Service 2-hour drop sessions hosted at the Public Library bi-weekly. Formerly incarcerated people as well as library patrons are welcome to drop in with tech and resume support questions. Accelerated Rehabilitation Teach-In Advocacy or Activism Teach-in on the accelerated rehabilitation program used in Connecticut courts, especially for litigants arrested in protest demonstrations. This will cover its benefits and drawbacks for community (re)entry in New Haven, along with ideas for future reform. Toxins Inside: Environmental Racism in Prisons Advocacy or Activism Panel event featuring the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons, an activist group of justice-impacted individuals organizing around the linkages between the abolition and enviormental justice movements. Vigil for Marcellus Williams Advocacy or Activism YUPP is holding space for community members to honor the memory of Marcellus Williams. Library Documentary Nights Advocacy or Activism Doing additional collaborations with the public libraries to host movie nights featuring documentaries and films about the realities of the criminal justice system, dedicating the beginning of the programming to talk a little bit about the Pardon Program. Know Your Rights Teach-Outs Advocacy or Activism Partnering with local community spaces such as Yale Community Kitchen, Dixwell Community House, and more to host know your rights teach outs that spread info about Clean Slate and the Pardon process. YUPP Reading Circles Advocacy or Activism Series of reading circles on The Other Side of Prospect by Nicholas Dawidoff, a book chronicaling the effects of prisons and policing in New Haven. This will function similar to a book club, with meetings to discuss every other week. Mauli Ola: Juvenile Justice and Cultural Diversion Programs in Hawai'i Advocacy or Activism Panel event featuring Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center and Kinai 'Eha, two community-based, Hawaiian-led programs aiming to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through Indigenous cultural education. Partnership with the NACC and IPO. Indigenous Peoples' Day Film Screening Advocacy or Activism In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, YUPP will collaborate with NACC-affiliate student organizations for a screening of Out of State, a documentary about Native Hawaiian men held in private prisons in Arizona. Screening will be followed by a discussion on mass incarceration in Indigenous communities. Stop Solitary CT Teach-In Advocacy or Activism Teach-in with a representative from Stop Solitary CT, focusing on the impacts of solitary confinement in Connecticut prisons and the need for reform. Re-entry Resource Rally with GNHRRT Advocacy or Activism A collaborative event with the Greater New Haven Re-entry Roundtable on the New Haven Green where different CT organizations dedicated to re-entry assistance will hold informational booths to spread awareness about the resources available to CT residents.

Student Leaders:

Fikir Mekonnen - Co-Coordinator/Co-President Yakeleen Almazan - Co-Coordinator/Co-President Bahar Bouzarjomehri - Co-Coordinator/Co-President

How others get involved:

Email us at yaleundergradprisonproject@gmail.com. Website: https://mattpost.wixsite.com/yupp. Instagram: @yaleundergraduateprisonproject