The PrisonPandemic Archive Project

The PrisonPandemic archive project began collecting stories from incarcerated people and their family members in summer 2020, several months after the first reports of COVID-19 surfaced in California. We have received nearly 5,000 phone calls, letters, pieces of artwork and stories from people in prisons across California. You can view these original contributions on our website, and soon these contributions will also be available through Special Collections & Archives at the University of California, Irvine Libraries. However, the incarcerated people who shared their stories with us have no internet access and cannot explore our website. Therefore, we are fundraising to cover the costs of sending a PrisonPandemic paperback book – a printed anthology of the stories on our website – back  to the incarcerated people who shared their stories with us.

Our goal is to raise $5,000 to purchase the PrisonPandemic paperback book, Locked Down and Locked Up: Stories from the Inside, for people who are incarcerated throughout California’s prisons. The goal of this fundraising campaign is to get these contributions to incarcerated people who otherwise would not be able to read these stories. 

When we began collecting the PrisonPandemic stories, widespread lockdowns and visitor prohibitions across prisons and jails cut off incarcerated people from most outside contact. There were no comprehensive accounts of how incarcerated people, or their loved ones, were experiencing this public health crisis. By collecting and disseminating these stories, we aim to bear witness to what people have experienced inside carceral facilities during the pandemic and to bring greater transparency to this crisis. Our collection serves as a resource for understanding the pandemic’s unequal toll. By providing individuals in prison an opportunity to share their stories, this project raises awareness to the vulnerabilities experienced by this population. 

Your donation will help us to share more stories with the incarcerated individuals who made this project possible. Your donation will be used to purchase and send books to people who are incarcerated in jails and prisons throughout California. The book is also currently available to purchase (at cost) on Amazon.