What’s it like to live in solitary confinement? Sit in a replica solitary cell at the New Haven Free Public Library. 

Join us on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 for a special film screening & panel discussion from 6:00 - 7:00 pm

What's it like to be isolated in a small prison cell for days, weeks, years, even decades?

The Community Foundation’s strategy of helping formerly incarcerated persons successfully reintegrate into our community takes into account the impact of living in a prison environment. To help the public gain greater understanding of the multi-faceted challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals, The Foundation is co-sponsoring an event to bring a replica of a solitary confinement cell to New Haven. 

Created by The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), the replica solitary confinement cell project begins its New Haven display with a press conference on Monday, January 30 at 1:30 p.m. at the New Haven Free Public (Ives Memorial) Library. In attendance will be The Foundation's CEO & President Will Ginsberg, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, Connecticut Senator Gary Holder-Winfield, solitary survivor Keishar Tucker, City Librarian & Library Director Martha Brogan and members of the Lowenstein Clinic. 

The goal of the replica cell project is for people to experience what it’s like to live in solitary confinement. The public is encouraged to sit inside the cell and think about what it would be like to live in a 10-foot by 12-foot area, sometimes for years.

The cell is on view at the Library from January 30 through February 4, 2017; additional events about incarceration continue on the Yale Campus through February 18. Visit https://www.insidetheboxnhv.org for more information and a full schedule of events.

 
Additional sponsors of the event include the ACLU of Connecticut, Dwight Hall at Yale, the Joint Projects Committee of United Church of Christ congregations of New Haven, the Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School, the Malta Justice Initiative, My Brother’s Keeper, the National Religious Coalition Against Torture, the New Haven Free Public Library, the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, the Rebellious Lawyering Conference, Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice, Wilton Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, and the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project.
 
Join us for a special program on Wednesday, February 1 featuring a screening of the documentary film Worst of the Worst: A Portrait of a Supermax Prison (Yale Visual Law Project 2012), followed by a panel discussion with solitary survivors and survivors’ family members. This event is free and open to the public.