JAY-Z and Meek Mill are lending a helping hand to prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two’s REFORM Alliance has donated 100,000 surgical masks to aid inmates, healthcare workers and correctional officers in multiple states.
“Thank you to @meekmill, @shakasenghor, & everyone who helped us get 100k masks into prisons,” REFORM announced via Instagram. “These masks will help protect incarcerated people & correctional staff in #Rikers, the Tennessee DOC, and #ParchmanPrison from #COVID19.”
The organization added, “This is a team effort. If you can help us get more personal protective equipment into prisons, comment below or DM us. You can also take action by clicking the link in our bio Let’s save lives today #noprisonpandemic.”
According to CBS News, REFORM donated 50,000 masks to the Rikers Island jail complex with an additional 2,500 going to a Rikers medical facility.
Ross MacDonald, chief medical officer of New York City’s correctional health services, has described the spread of COVID-19 at Rikers as “a public health disaster unfolding before our eyes.”
REFORM’s donation also provided 40,000 masks to the Tennessee Department of Corrections and 5,000 to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Prior to the wide awareness of the coronavirus pandemic, JAY-Z was among those helping Mississippi inmates file a lawsuit over Parchman’s poor prison conditions. Safety had become a concern after multiple prisoners died at the facility in January.
As the Chief Physician of Rikers Island, I prefer to do my work anonymously, but in these extraordinary times, I must comment on this letter from the district attorneys of New York. https://t.co/4klvis2tcr 1/x— Ross MacDonald (@RossMacDonaldMD) March 31, 2020
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