OCA Ventures’ Post

Preserving Family Legacies with Prisidio! 🏡 We all have those treasures that hold a piece of our family's history and love. With Prisidio, you can now safeguard these sentimental items in a whole new way. Here's how: In our fast-paced world, the significance of family heirlooms can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. But fear not – Prisidio is here to bridge the gap between tradition and technology. Step 1: Capture the Essence 📸 Whether it's a handwritten letter, a faded photograph, or a cherished memento, capture the essence of the item. These objects hold stories and emotions that deserve to be treasured. Step 2: Store Digitally with Care🔒 Prisidio gives your sentimental items a secure digital home. Digitize them by taking photos, and organize them into folders just like you would in a physical album. It's like having a virtual family history vault at your fingertips. Step 3: Carry Memories Everywhere📲 The beauty of Prisidio lies in its accessibility. Carry your family's stories with you wherever you go, and share them easily with loved ones, ensuring that the connection to your roots remains strong. From handwritten recipes passed down through generations to faded ticket stubs that tell stories of adventures long gone, Prisidio turns these treasures into digital keepsakes that can be cherished forever. Let's honor our past while embracing the future – one memory at a time. Start your journey with Prisidio today!

Facing the difficult journey of end-of-life planning is never easy, but Prisidio is here to offer support and solace during this challenging time.🔒 We understand that organizing important documents and information for yourself or a loved one can be emotionally overwhelming. That's why Prisidio is committed to providing a secure and compassionate platform for this critical task. Our app is designed to help you: 1️⃣ Gather all essential end-of-life documents in one safe place. 2️⃣ Ensure your wishes are clear and easily accessible. 3️⃣ Lighten the burden for your loved ones during a difficult time. We want to extend our heartfelt empathy and support to those embarking on this journey. 💕 Prisidio is more than an app; it's a caring companion during life's most challenging moments.

Check out our latest blog post (and video) on how my father used Prisidio to tell the story of his mother's hope chest - his most important physical possession. My grandmother passed away the day my father was born, and this hope chest is the only physical connection he has to his mother. If it wasn't for Prisidio, my siblings and I wouldn't have known about this cherished heirloom nor the rich history of its contents! #digitalvault #heirloom #memories #storytelling

For my 2-minute tip this week, I talk about how to share multiple items with someone in your Prisidio vault. We're all super busy and when sharing in Prisidio there's no need to waste your time going to every single item you want to let someone see in your vault! Check out this video to see how to save time sharing multiple items with someone as well as how to see everything someone has viewed in your vault without having to go to the activity for every single item to which you think you may have given them access. Prisidio was built to help you securely share your most important information, quickly see what every person you’ve invited into your vault can see and have full visibility into what each person in your vault has viewed. That’s it for today!

Morning Rant...After my Gratitude post: Good Morning, Today I was able to make a deposit on the Getting Out App. which is how I communicate inside jails and prisons across the country. This was the first time that donations were available to cover the costs! This was a huge relief! I am thankful to all of those who support the work I am doing with Prison POD Productions; without your help I may not be still doing this. The costs were adding up. So thank you for those who have donated in the past month; your generosity helps keep me on the air! Reminder: The mission of the Prison POD is to "Save Lives, Restore Hope, Reduce Suffering and Recidivism" Apologies in advance! What is going on with GTL??? (getting out app) The system has been a mess for a couple of weeks. I just received messages from a week ago! It took 5 days to be able to make a deposit on my account, and then I had to sign in as a guest, even though I have had an account for years. The guys tell me they type the message and it disappears or they go to send and nothing happens. If this is our main means of communication, it needs to work! Many facilities use a mail service, so snail mail moves even slower. Turn around has taken up to 10 days in the past, sometimes it is better. You mail the letter one place, they photocopy it, and then mail it to the recipient. The pages are often not in order, photo copied on the back out of order, and, sometimes a page is missing. I understand that these services are a privilege BUT we pay for these, along with the person who is incarcerated. I realized today that the "service fee" is 10% of what you deposit. I guess that is the minimum mark up now on everything we deposit into a facility. And then the mark up on Commissary...don't get me started. The family and friends just keep paying. And while I'm at it...how many times on a phone call do they need to interrupt and say "This call may be monitored and recorded" OR "You have 60 seconds left"... "You have 30 seconds left" - each interruption you lose a little bit of time and certainly can lose your train of thought. Thinking of the frustration felt by those inside, waiting for days for a message to come through. They may be waiting on a message about an ill child, spouse or parent. I really wish they could improve this system. I am grateful that it is available, especially when it works right.

For today's Carceral Grief discussion, I was eager to promote the need for transformative justice for the sake of the most marginalized of our Black & brown communities! Thankfully, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing & Transforming Justice provided the best reading! This essay does a phenomenal job of highlighting how carceral systems have never provided Black & brown folx with any semblance of justice! 🫶🏽 It is not too late to register for Navigating Grief in BIPOC Solidarity, so please do not hesitate to sign-up if you are Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour, & white folx are welcome to share widely! 🙏🏽 https://lnkd.in/gBFegm-q Dates: Thursdays from February 15 to April 11, 2024 Times: 6-8 pm EST Location: ONLINE Remaining Weekly Topics: March 28, 2024: Navigating Carceral Grief April 4, 2024: Grief as a Spiritual Practice April 11, 2024: Navigating Climate Grief Unfortunately, Workman Arts was unable to secure any BIPOC ASL interpretation services for this series, so my apologies for that gap in access. [Image Description: Against a white background, black text states: So You're Thinking about Becoming an Abolitionist LEVEL, October 2020 Today, more people are discussing and contemplating prison abolition than ever before. Decades of collective organizing have brought us to this moment: some are newly aware that prisons, policing, and the criminal punishment system in general are racist, oppressive, and ineffective. However, some might be wondering, "Is abolition too drastic? Can we really get rid of prisons and policing all together?" The short answer: We can. We must. We are. Prison-industrial complex abolition is a political vision, a structural analysis of oppression, and a practical organizing strategy. While some people might think of abolition as primarily a negative project--"Let's tear everything down tomorrow and hope for the best"-PIC abolition is a vision of a restructured society in a world where we have everything we need: food, shelter, education, health, art, beauty, clean water, and more things that are foundational to our personal and community safety.] #KrystalKavitaJagoo #IntersectionalEquityInsights #SustainableBIPOCResistance

REENTRY & RELATIONSHIPS Donating more than 400 books to prisons worldwide has been profoundly rewarding. Recognizing the significance of raising awareness is truly heartening. It's deeply moving to receive gratitude from incarcerated individuals who feel understood in their struggles. Educating about Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) doesn't just provide insight; it underscores the importance of being informed. Many comprehend the reality behind "I am Kevin, and my wife is Shelia," revealing that the impacts of PICS extend beyond the incarcerated individuals themselves. PICS affects family members who may feel trapped in a mental prison. Seek to understand, not deny—prison has side effects! Available on Amazon: https://lnkd.in/gfqve6CZ #mentalhealthawareness #postincarcertionsyndrome #prison #mentalhealth #reentry #holisticreentry 

For #VeteransDay, check out the Florida Policy Project's new report, Improving Veterans’ Incarceration and Reentry in Florida: Leaving No Veteran Behind. The organization is focused on creating better outcomes for vets and providing tools for reentry. https://bit.ly/477b9W3

Throughout their journey to become a Service Dog, our dogs make a tremendous impact on so many within our communities. "Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of involving inmates in assistance dog training programs is its transformative effect on the participants themselves. Research reveals that engagement in dog training initiatives increases self-esteem, reduces recidivism rates, and enhances interpersonal skills among incarcerated individuals." #prisonprogram #training #makeadifference #impact #dogtraining

#Veterans #Advocate Thomas Roughneen joins Melissa Rosenblum to discuss #NJ #Veterans Diversionary Programs run by counties across the state. 🇺🇸 The conversation discusses the effectiveness of the Veterans Diversionary Program (VDP) in New Jersey and the need for more consistency and support across counties. It highlights the importance of county bar associations in holding counties accountable and the role of mentors in the program. The conversation also touches on the lack of a specialty court for veterans in New Jersey and the potential benefits of a mental health court. The recidivism rates of veterans in the VDP are noted to be low, and the importance of connecting veterans with VA benefits is emphasized. Keywords Veterans Diversionary Program, effectiveness, consistency, support, county bar associations, mentors, specialty court, mental health court, recidivism rates, VA benefits Takeaways The effectiveness of the Veterans Diversionary Program (VDP) in New Jersey varies across counties, with some counties having strong programs while others lack support and resources. County bar associations can play a crucial role in holding counties accountable and ensuring the success of the VDP. Mentors are an important component of the VDP, but there is a need for better recruitment, retention, and training of mentors. There is a lack of a specialty court for veterans in New Jersey, and the implementation of a mental health court could provide additional support and resources for veterans in the criminal justice system. The recidivism rates of veterans in the VDP are low, highlighting the success of the program in helping veterans reintegrate into society. Connecting veterans with VA benefits is essential, and county-level assistance programs can help veterans navigate the VA system and access the benefits they are entitled to.