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Leisure Time

Interview with April, Julie, Brenda, Cesar and Eddie

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
April: You could play games, you could play cards, you could walk in the yard. You could go to church as well as na and aa. They had different type of groups to help better you for when you go back into society. You could also read and wrote letters to stay busy
Julie: cards, a tv in the day room, books that we brought in. lots of sharing of books. a few games that inmates were given permission to bring. some excercised in the aisles, smoke yard. nothing provided by the facility itself, except vending machines=lots of junk food! lots of coffee and soda. no bottled water until an inmate asked vendor to put it in.
Brenda: I had a TV. I also went to church a lot. There was always a church group coming in to spread the word of God. There was a small court yard for basketball if weather permitted. Other than that I would spend time in my cell where I had semi control of what was going on.
Cesar: GED , Kitchen jobs , violence prevention , counseling , church , TV , basketball , handball , cards , dominoes , work out settings , commissary , write letters , drawings , law computer , thers a lot but in one day you can do it all its so slow in there time is so sloth .
Eddie: Board and card games. A pull up bar. Basketball court and handball. Television. Some arts and craft materials are available on the commissary list also. You can leave the block to go to church special groups and NA and AA meetings also. Also visits from family and friends were available on assigned days.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
April: There was regular access because they had a TV on the units plus you could also purchase TVs for your cell. You could also have a radio as well. Aside from that you were able to have your family send in newspapers and magazines to keep you entertained while being in there.
Julie: It was pretty well worked out among inmates, if there was an issue, majority ruled. I remember 1 time, inmates went to the front and were told what was a given, majority rules or no tv. I think 1 time in the 14 months I was there the tv was off.-but not about the tv.
Brenda: If a church group was there, they would only take 15 ladies. So the object was to make sure you were 1st on the list so this would guarantee you to go. But then the officers would choice who was allowed to go by how the inmate acted on the pod.
Cesar: no theres always time to do what you like done you just have to be patience . theres always inmates doing certain things all day long at different times some be even sleeping to pass by time its all i movement of whos doing this at this time or whos doing something else at another time ...
Eddie: For the most part people shared. Sometimes it as hard to get into a basketball game or a handball game if a lot of people wanted to play. The card, board games, and television were always easy accessible. A lot of time people just sit around and talk with one another during leisure time.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
April: Yes because you do nor have much room to move around and get physical activity, plus the yard is so small. They feed you a lot of carbs to stay full so its easy to gain weight
Julie: I would have except I walked out almost a mile everyday for work to the bus. and back most night.
Brenda: YES, I gained over 30lbs because the food was all starch. There was no physical activity for you to burn the weight off.
Cesar: a little for i just came out of surgery and i wasn't yet fully healed so i was always just taking walks which helped a little .
Eddie: No I worked out frequently doing a lot of pull ups and push ups I also jogged on the basketball court.

JM: How often did you get to go outside? What did you do outside if you were allowed to? If you were not allowed to go outside what could you do for exercise?
April: Every time you were allowed out of your cell every 3 hours, you were allowed outside. There wasn't really anything to do but walk in a circle.
Julie: the smoke yard was open from 5 45 am i think until 10 pm. That was all there was out there. no bench no table but you could sit in the sun, read, listen to headphones
Brenda: I hardly ever went outside because that's where all the fights happened. For me, I would exercise in my cell. Sit ups or yoga. But this was rare because I had a TV so I would just watch TV all day.
Cesar: Lehigh County Prison don't have an out side ... its has i rec yard which is in the building ... you could only walk in squares and play basketball or handball
Eddie: We never went outside. Basketball and handball were available. Also jogging was allowed on the basketball court. There is a pull up bar on each block too.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
April: Yes they offered church services almost daily, different type of religions. They were personally to me boring, they were held in classrooms downstairs from the female unit.
Julie: bible study once a week I think, I was not there those nights, I worked alot and was allowed to continue my custody visits.
Brenda: They offered church everyday because these groups would come in. I would go because I was interested in what they were saying. But the majority of the ladies would go because they would see their friend from the other pod. They could bring them stuff. Pass notes, etc.
Cesar: church service was always a good thing . we sang prayed and spoke to one another about all that we can to become better people in the eyes of society
Eddie: Yes church service were available about 3 days a week at different times they were always very pleasant with a very understand pastor. Services were available in English and Spanish.

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