Dear Friends,

Continuing our quarterly “how to” online training series for faith advocates, last Wednesday NRCAT hosted How to Shine Your Light. Religious and community leaders from Wisconsin-based WISDOM and EXPO joined us to share strategies they use in hosting monthly vigils on the 23rd of each month to draw public attention to those who are being held in solitary confinement in WI prisons and jails. The vigils range from calling for policy change to publicly recognizing the tragedy of a death in a Wisconsin prison or jail. 

When sharing how to host rapid response vigils and the importance of honoring lives lost while incarcerated, Marianne Oleson, Operations Director of EXPO of Wisconsin said that when they gather: 
“We don’t just light candles, we light paths forward.”

We invite you to view the full webinar recording on the NRCAT YouTube channel here and to share it with others in your faith community. Explore how your faith community can partner with NRCAT to lead public witness vigils on the 23rd of each month to help draw attention to the estimated 122,00 people who are held for 23 hours a day in solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails and detention centers.

The WISDOM monthly vigils in Wisconsin are driving change statewide as their campaign urges Governor Evers and state legislators to prioritize investment in job training and rehabilitation, not prisons, in the state budget. To resource your vigil planning, NRCAT has new print materials available here including an interfaith prayer to end torture. Banners are available by contacting Rev. T.C. Morrow at [email protected], and gear to wear at your vigils are available from NRCAT’s store here.

Please Save the Date for Thursday, September 25th at 12pm ET, when NRCAT will host our next quarterly “how to” webinar training for faith advocates: How to Unlock the Box. This webinar will feature Jessica Sandoval and Anisah Sabur of the Unlock the Box campaign, a partner organization of NRCAT that is working to end solitary confinement nationwide. They will share updates on the 23 active state campaigns that are organizing their communities to advocate for legislation to end solitary. Join us and hear how your religious community can be a part of this powerful work.

Thank you for joining with us in these opportunities for transformation!

In community,
Laura Markle Downton, M.Div.
NRCAT Director, Faith and Community Engagement

P.S. During this June Torture Awareness Month, each donation to NRCAT is doubled thanks to two generous donors. Please consider donating today!