Sunday, September 17, at 7 p.m.
An online forum presented by the Social Justice and Outreach Committee (SJO) and the Pittsburgh chapter of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN).
Approximately four-fifths of Allegheny County Jail residents have not yet been convicted of a crime. Yet they are all given mostly inedible food, often denied prescribed medicine or offered it at the wrong time, and are forced to spend nights in conditions too uncomfortable for sleep.
Since April 2020, 20 have died, more than twice the annual average for jails of similar size. Healthcare workers have supervisors without medical credentials who order them to violate best practices, putting their licensure at risk. Ninety staff positions are vacant and employees are forced to work excessive overtime. With current Warden Orlando Harper’s retirement on September 29, how can we assure conditions will improve under the next warden?
Opening Prayer, Minister Ella Scales, Union Baptist Church, VP PIIN
Panel:
- Leah Kozak, PIIN organizer, Chair
- Brittany Hailer, Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
- Sister Barbara Finch, former nurse at ACJ
- John Kenstowicz, social worker
Concluding Prayer: the Rev. Dr. Julie Smith, Hospice Chaplain, Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscOypqj0sGdyZwiEZSI97cwDR1btL076C
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