For those of us sentenced to a life term, time is inexorable. Years pass and seem to bring us not closer to release while our bodies succumb to age. We are challenged to draw vitality and meaning from our circumstances.
A King of ancient Israel, Solomon, believed that everything has its perfect time and place. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything perfect in its time. Also he put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Viktor Frankl, survived imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps and founded a school of psychodynamics called,  “Logotherapy,” which states that “meaning” is the central idea of human existence. He concluded that, “it did not really matter what was expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and right conduct. Life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
We know that there is very little we can control or change in our environment. Our inability to change our situation challenges us to change ourselves. Freedom is restricted by our conditions. But, we remain free to take a stand toward those conditions. Frankl wrote, “It is this spiritual freedom which cannot be taken away and that makes life meaningful and purposeful.”
Eternity exists between a single inhalation and exhalation. The Scriptures talk about the power and sanctity of the breath. The verse in Genesis that speaks of the “Spirit of God sweeping over the water,” (Genesis 1:2) uses the Hebrew word, “ruach,” which is the same word used for life. Job said, “the Spirit (ruach) of God formed me, the breath (neshama) of Shaddai sustains me.” Neshama, a word whose root is used to describe breathing or a breath, is also used to denote a person’s soul or life. Genesis 2:7, describing the creation of man, stated, God “blew into his nostrils the breath of life (neshama).”
Through the wise and masterful instruction of James Fox, a Yoga instructor at San Quentin, I have begun to learn about the power of the breath of life. In Yoga, the vital force called “prana” is cultivated and moved through a series of “asanas,” physical movements combined with breathing exercises. This practice helps us to live one breath at a time. It is in quietness and stillness that time becomes an ally not a foe. It is in stillness that we begin to realize the things that are important and those things that really do not matter. The truth that everything can change in a single instant becomes apparent.
Yoga and its emphasis on the power of a single breath promote a respect for life and a profound realization of the destructive force of violence. I have grown to understand that I extinguished the breath of another human being forever and denied him innumerable moments of peace, joy and being. We desire stability of spirit during these times of uncertainty and confusion. Learning to live between the breaths we take each moment is the path to that peace.

Once paroled from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, rebuilding a new life becomes a never ending request to show valid identification. Going to the DMV to try and get identification, immediately makes you suspect of being a terrorist who is attempting to “hide out” until called upon to blow up something. Assembly Bill 2099 may change all of that, providing everyone who is walking out the door with a valid ID.
Frank Russell, director of education, vocations and offender programs in CDCR, acknowledges that there is a serious gap in the parole process here. He stated that the most critical time of release, is in the first hours and days following release. Getting a job, applying for assistance, and the hundred other daily events people deal with, all begin with an ID.
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock argues that identification is the “sensible” thing to do and removes obstacles in the way of parolees. A test program has been proposed for Folsom State Prison, at a cost of $55,000. Ms. Hancock points out that if it helps two inmates to stay out, then the state will have saved $71,000.

On Sept. 01, 2008, Solano State Prison will be a part of a yearlong pilot project dispensing condoms to prisoners.
In one of those examples of when the right hand isn’t agreeing with the left, prisoners will be permitted to have in your possession a “sealed” condom, but, should the seal be broken, the prisoner will be subject to a write-up. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill which would have required California prisons to allow non-profit and public health agencies to distribute “sexual barrier protection devices.”
Much opposition comes from many in the prison administration who see it as an easy step to authorizing same-sex prisoners to engage in sexual activities. Yet, infection rates of HIV and STD’s in state and federal prisons are five times greater than in the free population. The non-profit “Center for Health Justice” has been asked to facilitate the program. Condom machines will be placed in “discrete” locations at the prison.

Routine checkups can find health problems early. For many health problems, early treatment can help prevent more serious problems. A “screen” is a test used to look for a disease that has not already been found or diagnosed. Screens are recommended based on your age, health history and family health history.
The advice listed below is based on guidelines designed by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the U.S. Preventive Health Task Force. They are guidelines for how often you should see your health care provider for routine exams and tests. These schedules should be used for “well care.” If you have any ongoing health problems, you will need checkups more often.
A dental exam should be done every 6 months to 1 year in all men.
Blood pressure and weight should be checked every 2-3 years in healthy men age 18-39, and every year for men age 40 and over.
Cholesterol should be checked every 5 years starting at age 35, or earlier in men with risk factors for heart disease. Blood sugar should be checked every 3 years to look for diabetes.
Men over 40 may need to have exams of the skin to look for skin cancer, they should ask their doctor if this is necessary.
Men over 50 should have their stool tested for blood every year and/or a colonoscopy (using a camera to look into the colon) every 10 years. Both of these tests are used to search for colon cancer.
There is a lot of debate about the need for prostate cancer screening with a “PSA” blood test. Men over 50 should ask their doctor if they need this test.
Men over 50 should have a check for hearing and an eye exam every 1 to 3 years.
All men should be screened for HIV even if they don’t have any risk factors, according to the Center for Disease Control.
People with diabetes and high blood pressure are recommended to have additional screening tests, because they are at higher risk to get certain diseases, such as, heart attacks, blindness and kidney disease. In Diabetics, a Hemoglobin A1C (blood test) is needed every 6 months and a foot exam should be done at each doctor visit. In both diabetics and people with high blood pressure a screen for protein in the urine is needed. This test looks for early kidney damage. A cholesterol test and an eye exam should be done once per year in people with diabetes or high blood pressure.
What immunizations do I need to get?
As an adult, you should have the shots listed below:

• flu shot every year, especially if you are over 50 years old
• tetanus (Td) booster shot every 10 years
• varicella (chickenpox) shot twice in your lifetime. You need this shot if you have never had a varicella (chickenpox) shot and you do not know if you ever had chickenpox disease.
• pneumonia shot at age 65 or sooner if you have a chronic disease like diabetes.

If you have questions or health concerns, feel free to fill out a 7362, request for health care services, to discuss these matters with your primary care provider.

What do you get when you mix a drunk with a knife trying to teach a parrot to speak obscenities?  You get a guy doing jail time and a parrot who slurs the “sh” pronunciations!
On Tuesday, July 22, Aaron McCoy was at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop trying to teach a bird how to speak all those “foul” words.  Seeing that Mr. McCoy had a nine inch knife tucked into his waist band, the store employees called the police.  The bird corrupter was arrested without incident; no word on whether the parrot’s beak needed to be washed out with soap.
 

“If you have come to help me you’r are wasting your time…but if you have come because you liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
I was honored to be asked to write for the SQN. My hope is that this can be a space that helps facilitate healing and change. The above quote came from the (Austrailan) Aboriginal Political Activist Group in the 1970s. It is this spirit that I would like to introduce myself. My name is Helen Ameeta Singh; I am a therapist and have been fortunate enough to co-facilitate a group on mental and emotional health and wellness for the “TRUST” here at San Quentin. I look forward to creating a space to talk about some of the things that impact our overall health and wellness, which I see as being made up of the physical, spiritual, and mental/emotional aspects of us.
Physical health is how our bodies are functioning and feeling. It includes things like nutrition; what we are eating; where exercise fits into our daily lives; any medical conditions we may be struggling with.
Our spiritual health and well being is made of our individual beliefs around what sustains us. It helps give our lives meaning and keep us going, especially in the really tough times. Being connected to what gives our lives meaning is important to our overall health and wellness because it allows us to continue to stay connected to our own humanity as we exist within systems of oppression (such as the prison environment) that seek to dehumanize us.
Our mental/emotion health is how we think, fell and act as we cope with life. It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices in our lives. As we increase understanding about ourselves and what motivates our behaviors, we become more able to make changes to those behaviors that are negatively impacting us.
Being incarcerated, is very challenging to a person’s well being in may ways. Think about those three aspects of your overall health and wellness. How healthy is your body, spirit and mind right now? Are any of your behaviors causing harm to any of these parts of you? How do you support and nurture these different aspects of your overall health and wellness in the challenging situations that you’re in?
Until next time, peace and blessings…Helen.

In an environment created of iron, stainless steel, cinder blocks and concrete, are an accumulation of men who have committed a mixture of crimes ranging from drug dealing and petty theft to kidnap and murder. In this cruel, man made environment, live individuals who don’t follow the rules, disobey laws and simply don’t get along well with other men and women who are their polar opposites (law-abiding citizens). When we walk down streets, people clench their property and in some occasions, cross the street all in the fear of being robbed or criminally violated in some manner. Currently housed in a population of approximately 5,300, we, the incarcerated men of San Quentin State Prison are viewed as individuals whom society must be protected from. As an incarcerated man, this reporter can happily and easily contest that we are not the cancers of society. But don’t take my word for it; instead, allow me to share with you an interesting dynamic that is in place here at San Quentin State Prison.
On this cool May morning, I was blessed with the opportunity to participate in San Quentin State Prison’s 6th Annual Health Fair. This is an event that is hosted by the San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. for the Development of Incarcerated Men in conjunction with the National Trust for the Development of African American Men, the Alameda County Health Department and the Urban Male Health Initiative. The purpose of this event is to promote “Good Health” within self, family and community and to educate the incarcerated men in chronic health issues pertaining to gender, race and age. Every year, Dr. Arnold Chavez of the Alameda County Health Department pours his heart and soul into the recruitment of Health Care professionals for our annual health fair. What was once the hardest sell in the world for Dr. Chavez, has easily become an abundance of professionals who jump at the opportunity to participate in this annual event. Dr. Chavez remarks, “In the beginning, I was only able to get 10 – 15 Nurses and Health Specialists to participate in the event. Now I have over a 100 people each year who try to clear their calendars to participate in this day at San Quentin.” This year’s bunch of enthusiastic professionals included specialists providing information on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s), Risk Reduction, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Nutritional Values Counseling, Blood Pressure testing, Body Mass Index, Glucose Testing, Cholesterol Testing and yes… Yoga! While Alameda County Health has always been at the forefront of volunteering, this year has brought a group of new faces. Entering the San Quentin health fair arena for the first time were doctors and interns from the University of California, San Francisco which provided information  in the fields of Geriatrics and Nutrition (Healthy Choice Recipes). Mildred Crear, an Oakland native, has been in the Health Care profession for 44 years, currently heads the Black Nurses Association (BNA) and was manning the Glucose Testing table. Mildred, a Registered Nurse who is here for her third visit states, “I return each year to empower people, give information about health care so the men in San Quentin will know and understand their numbers (Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Sugar and Body Mass).” Mildred continues by stating, “I hope the Receivership will improve the health care here in San Quentin and perhaps work together with outside organizations to help this process. Mildred went out on a limb by stating, “Maybe they will make the food better.” Bless her heart! During Mildred’s first visit, she was very skeptical about coming to San Quentin because she feared the unknown. At the end of our day, I was able to ask Mildred how she felt and she responded by simply stating if she could, she would take us all home with her. When she comes in she feels… Comfortable! And has no concerns while she is here and has stated that she feels safer here then she does in her own community at times.
While the focus today is strictly on promoting health, Dr. Gary Mendez, executive director of the National Trust, states in a speech provided to the population attending the fair, In making this statement Dr. Mendez lays down a challenge to the incarcerated men to make a change; and they respond. In droves, the men of San Quentin start showing up and participating in the different booths. As you make your way around the makeshift, “Medical Complex,” a picture of unity shows very clearly. Outside in the front yard, where rows of tables are lined up with professionals providing valuable information to the incarcerated men, genuine smiles, pleasantries and gestures are exchanged by both sides. Those people who were once afraid to be around us are now excited about having us around them. If you paid close attention, you actually saw several members of the T.R.U.S.T. actually working side by side with health care professionals assisting in not only passing out information, but sharing their own health experiences with other members of the incarcerated population thus giving the men a face they can put on this experience.
Katchie Ananda, a 20-year veteran yoga instructor, was asked about her experiences here at San Quentin and how she felt about being here. Her response was simple… “I am just happy to be able to give to your community.” You can see this by the way she consistently kept a full room during the fair as she was teaching men different techniques in breathing, medication, relaxation and concentration. Katchie is here on her second visit to the Health Fair, but is actually a Brown Card holder here at the prison. She remains very active with our population as she teaches yoga class on Fridays. What was probably the warmest part of my day, was watching Ms. Arnette Hayes. Arnette was providing information regarding STD’s and clearly had the most active booth. Arnette, also on her second visit, clearly accepted the role of the “Mother” to the younger members of our population. Her demeanor: cool and calm… And in control.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the picture being painted to you is just a simple artist’s stroke of the brush when compared to the larger mural that has been created… While the focus was on health, this day showed two communities working together hand in hand to accomplish a common goal: promoting good health and a healthy lifestyle. This reporter has witnessed all six fairs that have been presented to the San Quentin population and as an incarcerated man, it is always a pleasure to be present when they take place. It is during these days that we the population show that we may have been a cancer at one period in our lives, but now we are in remission creating a healthy body and soul.