Items

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  2020-04-02

  COVID-19 isolation spurs Canadians to read, exercise, call loved ones

  This article provides a report on how Canadians across the provinces spent their time at the start of the pandemic. The report includes how often citizens dined out, ordered food, and what types of entertainment they engaged in under lockdown.
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  2020-09-26

  The Cost of Prison Phone Calls Prevents Family Communication, Especially During Covid

  Phone calls from incarcerated persons to their families has always been expensive but what many don't realize is that the pandemic has made it even worse. Back in March when much of the nation shut down to prevent the spread of Covid-19 the nations correctional facilities closed as well. Families could not longer visit their loved ones. There have been times when phone calls were also stopped because of the transmission possible through sharing phones and just having people out of their cells. But once phone calls were allowed families faced a new crisis, being able to afford the phone calls. Fees for phone calls from an incarcerated person are charged to the recipient of the call or to the prisoners personal account and cost a lot per minute. With so many people out of work due to the pandemic families are faced with the decision to speak with their incarcerated loved one or buy groceries or pay the rent. This article shares the story of one mother and the impossible decision she is faced with every time her phone displays a call from her incarcerated husband.
• 2020-10-01

  The COVID Pandemic and economic greed

  I wanted to share a bit about my life during COVID. My brother is currently incarcerated, and I would travel at least once a month to visit him. Once COVID hit, visitations were canceled, and my family was forced to rely on phone calls or snail mail. My brother would call us about once a week for his own sanity and ours as well. Several things have happened these past few months, which made our situation as a family more complicated. A phone call to my brother used to cost him (or us) 40 cents a minute. When COVID hit the private company used by the prison to facilitate calls, decided to take advantage of our reliance on phone calls and upcharge their prices. Phone calls now cost over a dollar a minute. Thankfully my family does ok and phone calls are not something we are willing to let go of, but I feel for families who have to choose between food, bills or funding their calling account. I know it sounds like an extreme situation, but there are families that have lost all contact with their loved ones who are incarcerated because of COVID, and these companies are taking advantage of the pandemic. Were now paying almost twenty dollars for every ten minute conversation, trust me it adds up real quick. The worst part is that these companies have contracts with the prisons, and we (the families on the outside) have no choice or say as far as what company we are able to go through to talk to those incarcerated. As if COVID and social distancing weren't enough, I'm now missing and worrying about my brother more than usual.
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  2020-09-11

  Prisons and Jails Are Rolling Back Free Phone Calls

  When Covid-19 hit the US many things shutdown including the nation's prisons. Of course they kept taking in people for incarceration but they no longer allowed visitors. This made connection to the outside world through phone calls even more important. What many people don't know is that each phone call an incarcerated person makes costs money, a lot of money. In the beginning of the pandemic many jails and prisons offered free phone calls, in the case they were even allowing phone calls (that's another story) but as the pandemic has continued for nearly eight months phone calls are no longer free or reduced cost. This is an undue burden on a population that is facing high unemployment.
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  2020-04-12

  A “shelter in place” birthday

  The video shows my very close family trying to make the most out of the situation. My family always comes together to celebrate each other’s birthdays and this year we could not.
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  04/03/2020

  Can faith healing work by phone? Charismatic Christians try prayer to combat the coronavirus.