A conversation with Christophe Lewis, Lindsay Jennings and Vanessa.

Monday 20 January 2025 at 1pm

Register for zoom link at: https://yorku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jePeAqqURdeYMYDWuY_-GA#/registration

The field of prison ecologies is growing, but to date most of the discussion has been abstract and has not included people with lived experience of incarceration. This session explores the ecological dimensions of the prison industrial complex as constitutive of lived relationships. Many dimensions of the nascent field of prison ecologies will be discussed in relation to the lived realities of long-lasting destructive impacts of incarceration.

Christophe Lewis is the founder of Freedom is a Must Foundation, a grassroots organization that supports youth and individuals in contact with the justice system through a holistic approach to healing. Having been incarcerated for over 14 years and navigating the justice system since the age of 12, Christophe is an entrepreneur who uses his lived experience to mentor at-risk community youth and incarcerated folks of all ages. He also leads campaigns advocating for prisoner rights and reintegration support. In his free time, Christophe enjoys cycling and exploring the outdoors, engaging in various activities related to nature.  https://freedomisamustfoundation.org/ https://freedomisamust.net/blog

Lindsay Jennings is a person who survived incarceration, homelessness,  substance use and intimate partner violence. Currently, Lindsay is a research associate with Carleton University: Tracking IN Justice Project and a Community Investigator at McMaster: Department of Family Medicine, and she is a certified Grief and Loss Educator/Worker. She is a passionate and professional advocate for the Human and Health Care Rights of currently incarcerated individuals, and over the past years has been dedicated to addressing the preventable deaths in custody, and more ethical and supportive processes for the families and those impacted by death in prisons/jails

Vanessa is a spoken word poet and an activist who initiated a class action lawsuit in relations to the inequitable and excessively punitive telecommunications practices in Canadian prisons and jails.  Vanessa works to support the mental health, wellbeing and rights of people labelled as marginalized while continuously advocating for incarcerated individuals with a particular focus on pregnant people and parents subject to incarceration under the Canadian justice system.