SWOP! There it is...

 

A few years back, a friend partner's passed away. Weeks after his passing, his partner had us over for dinner, or something (it may have been a holiday, I don't remember) and we got to talking about him. Our friend had been sorting out Ron's possessions and telling us stories about them. I suddenly found myself in possession of some very cool records, courtesy of his record collection and privy to some information I did not have before: you can have correspondence with somebody who is in jail, without even having to give out your address or any strings attached. You can write to somebody you will never know. Somebody who probably does not have anybody to write to and somebody to whom you can bring some happiness in a very dreary situation. Who knew?

You see, our friend discovered that his boyfriend had been -for years- writing to imprisoned people. And not just imprisoned people, LGBTQ+ imprisoned people. People who had been put in jail for assorted felonies, but most usually, for sex work. I was immediately fascinated. On the one side, we never saw Ron  as a specially sentimental person. Artistic? Yes. Good conversationalist? Yes. A great Yatzee player? Obviously. But somebody who would take time to write to people in jail? Never.

So that visit literally started a tradition that I still keep: every holiday, I write ten letters to ten people I have never met and who are in jail. Heh. Bet I made you blink. It's very simple. You ask SWOP to be part of their writing party and voilà, you're set to go. And you can invite friends, too! This is what they say about their Writing Party:

Each passing holiday behind bars marks another season that incarcerated people are unable to be with the ones they love. Fill that space this Valentine’s Day, Kwanza,  Christmas or holdiay of your choice by sending letters of love and support. Sending greetings to acknowledge Pride month is also a great idea. Use letter-writing parties to bring your friends, coworkers, or fellow community activists together.

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Please follow these rules:

• Do not use stickers or glitter on mail.
• Do not use gel pens.
• Use plain white paper only, lined or unlined.
• Do not use greeting cards as many facilities do not accept them.
• You may use colored pencils, markers, or ink stamps.
• Write the recipient’s name, DOC number, and address on the letter as well as the envelope.
• Do not retain lists of names and addresses and contiue to use them as this info changes quickly.
• Do not use your return address. Use: SWOP BEHIND BARS ATTN (Your name/organIzation) 340 South Lemon, Walnut, CA, 91789

Please understand that not all persons identify as ‘sex workers’. Respect their privacy and do not solicit their story or the details of their arrest.

It's actually quite simple. You wish the person a nice Holiday and you are done. Of course, you can do some social activism by just spreading the word: SWOP has a social media presence on Instagram and Twitter (and Facehook and TikTok but I despise those platforms so you'll have to go to SWOP's webpage to get those). They advocate for anti-trafficking, decarceration and education. They have programs and outreach and also an online shop that you can use to get some swag.

So, just between us and the internet, when was the last time you actually sat down to write a letter?

XOXO

P.S. You can also donate to SWOP and I believe it's tax deductible!!