Prison Stories Are Important For the World to Hear

But you’d never know based on statistics here

Photo by Rain Bennett on Unsplash

Lately, you would think no one cares about what folks have to say here on this platform. Our views are way down, but even on stories where they aren’t, the income is abysmal. Stories that previously would have earned a reasonable amount are earning us 2 cents.

We’re literally giving you our 2 cents.

It’s a struggle to make ends meet on a good day, but when the platform you’re using to supplement it clearly decides to limit your reach and income — it’s a lot worse. My “job” here inside earns me approximately $5 per week which is nowhere near enough to live on, even in prison.

But our stories are still important to tell, even if we aren’t earning much to do so. Inmates don’t typically have a lot of people willing to listen to them, so the fact that you’re all here and reading means a lot.

When I first realized the inevitability of my coming to prison, I started researching what that would truly mean. Finding accurate information was almost impossible unless you lived in California. People there seemed much more willing to discuss their experiences within the system, however, I’ve learned that the system in California is much different than it is anywhere else. While it’s nice the…