Hurricaen IDA- support for incarcerated people impacted by the storm

[Last Updated September 10th at 1pm EST ]

Over a week since Hurricane Ida devastated Southern Louisiana, we are extremely concerned about the lack of information about the safety and wellbeing of people incarcerated in the wake of the storm.

It is unclear what happened to people in prisons and jails that were hit by Hurricane Ida.
We know do know is that countless people were left behind in carceral facilities that did not evacuate. Instead, in Lafourche Parish incarcerated people were forced to fill sand bags ahead of the storm.

We know from past hurricanes that the most suffering and loss of life occurs in the days and weeks following the storm, when people incarcerated often don’t have access to drinking water, food, medicine, electricity, or plumbing,

Still now, people have not heard from their loved ones in Nelson Coleman Correctional Center since before the storm hit. The same goes for Jefferson Parish Correctional Center. Based on our conversations with people with loved ones incarcerated in these facilities, we are asking people to call and e-mail demanding answers and safety for the people incarcerated in these facilities.

phone zap for Nelson Coleman Correctional Center:

Prisoners at Nelson Coleman were left in Ida’s path. They’re still there, in a parish where almost no one has electricity. Loved ones haven’t heard from them in over a week, and people have been denied information about the unit. On-duty deputies ignored a question about access to clean water. We need answers.

UPDATE: WE RECEIVED WORD FROM SOMEONE INCARCERATED IN NELSON COLEMAN CC THAT THEY DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO WATER OR COMMISSARY AND THAT CONDITIONS INSIDE ARE VERY BAD. PLEASE KEEP CALLING!

Who to Contact:

St. Charles Parish President Matthew Jewell (985) 783-5000

St. Charles Parish Hurricane Ida Recovery Line is open from 8:30 a.m. 4 p.m.: 985-783-500

Facility – 985-783-1164

Charles Parish Sheriff’s Dept – (985) 783-6237

Sheriff Greg Champagne – gregchampagne@yahoo.com

Major Alvin Robinson- arobinson@stcharlessheriff.org (985) 783-1355

Captain Jessica Troxclair- jtroxclair@stcharlessheriff.org

Captain Maureen Gelston- mgelston@stcharlessheriff.org (985) 783-1377 ext. 2311

Sample Call/ E-mail Script:

“Hi, my name is [__]. I’m contacting you today concerning the wellbeing of people incarcerated at Nelson Coleman Correctional Center. I am reaching out because people have not heard from their loved ones in over a week. Many people have not heard from their loved ones inside the unit for over a week, it seems that people on the inside are without access to phones, and we are being kept in the dark about the current state of the unit. People have physically travelled to the unit and approached prison staff only to be denied answers about conditions and inmates’ access to water. We demand answers about how people at Nelson Coleman are being treated. Your office must investigate and report the conditions at Nelson Coleman Correctional Center and ensure access to water, food, and communication for people inside.”

We are also concerned about people at jefferson Parish Correctional Center:

Prisoners at Jefferson Parish Prison were left in Ida’s path. People haven’t heard from their loved ones inside the unit for over a week. The parish is under a boil notice and we do not know if incarcerated people have clean access to water at this time. We are demanding answers.

Who to Contact:

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office 504 368-5360

Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto, III sheriff@jpso.com 504-363-5500
Complaint line: 504-832-2362
Sue Ellen Monfra Title: Correctional Administrator / Deputy Chief Phone: 504-368-5360
Tim Scanlan, community liaison chief scanlan_tp@jpso.com 504-363-5547
Jason Rivarde, public info office, Rivarde_jm@jpso.com 504-363-5641
Glen Boyd, public info office boyd_gt@jpso.com 504-363-5522
Cynthia Lee Sheng, Jefferson parish president 504364-2700
Jefferson Parish Emergency Management 504 349-5360

Sample Call/ E-mail Script:

“Hello, my name is [____] and I’m calling today concerning the wellbeing of people incarcerated at the Jefferson Parish Prison. It has been over a week since people have heard from their loved ones inside the unit. We are being kept in the dark about the current condition of the prison. Do you have any news to report? We are aware that the parish is under a boil water notice, and need to know whether the unit is following protocol and providing clean water to incarcerated people. I demand that your office investigates and reports the conditions at Jefferson Parish Prison.”

Thank you for your time! Remember, you don’t need to give any personal information to those you are calling. Please e-mail us at ftpdisasterprep@gmail.com to let us know how your calls went.

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[the following information was last updated August 28th 3pm CST and is being preserved here for future reference]

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Ida, which will make landfall as a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane in southern Louisiana and western Mississippi on Sunday August 29th. By Sunday it will be too late for evacuation, so it’s important that people stockpile and evacuate TODAY! The whole region’s soils are already saturated from rain, so the high winds and additional rain are more likely to cause flooding and damage to trees, structures and powerlines.

Please reach out to any loved ones incarcerated in the region and let them know so they can be prepared. We suggest for people incarcerated in the path of the storm to get what they need from commissary now and fill up containers with drinkable water if possible, as drinking water will likely be compromised this weekend.

we have received word that the following facilities are evacuating!

PLAQUEMINES PARISH DETENTION CENTER (504) 934-7600

TERREBONNE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMPLEX (985) 857-0361

phone zap call script for facilities that are not evacuating:

“Hello, I’m calling out of deep concern over the approaching hurricane Ida. Please request to your supervisors that incarcerated people are immediately evacuated! We need you to ensure there is enough water and food stockpiled for the days after the hurricane for all prisoners!”

We are monitoring conditions at the following facilities:

NELSON COLEMAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER: 985 783 1440 Deputy Jones said they are not evacuating and not stockpiling.

JEFFERSON PARISH CORRECTIONAL CENTER: (504) 368-5360 (press 3 to get to an operator). They are not evacuating. When we asked what the plan for the hurricane was they said to lock people down and keep them in their dormitories. If the jail number doesn’t work for you, try calling the Jefferson Parish Sherriff: (985) 448-2111

Call the Lafourche Sherriff: (985) 448-2111 and tell him to evacuate the jails! They have been “evacuating” people TO the jail, but we need to ensure they are also stockpiling water, food, & securing vehicles to get people properly evacuated to higher ground.

LAFOURCHE WORK RELEASE CENTER — evacuating to the Lafourche Correctional Complex which is also in Lafourche
LAFOURCHE PARISH DETENTION CENTER (985) 449-4458 & LAFOURCHE PARISH JUVENILE JUSTICE FACILITY (985) 448-1436 — we have been told that folks are being evacuated TO these facilities.

As always please let us know how your calls went!
You can reach us on twitter: @FightXPrisons, instagram or facebook: @fighttoxicprisons , or e-mail ftpdisasterprep@gmail.com

Stay tuned for updates on more numbers to call