We are only coming out of our cells for about an hour and a half every other day because the SHU is full! We’re stuck in our cells until there is room in the SHU! Staff here tried to make an alternative SHU in an empty unit, but the region people said they cant do that. Meanwhile, no one does rounds to let us know how long we will be struck in our cells, and Psychology doesn’t come around to check on our mental wellbeing.
The SHU is full so much because of all the people who check in. When staff puts them in for a transfer, (the designation center in) Grand Prairie denies if they don’t think it’s verified. (By that I mean Grand Prairie doesn’t think it’s been proven yeet that there’s a valid need for protective custody and transfer.) In turn, that means the person who checked in has to wait in the SHU for another three months before a transfer can be requested again. A person who checks in can sit in the SHU for six to eight months!!
Using an empty unit for SHU overflow helped so much! We were out of our cells way more when they did that. But Region would rather keep us locked down until more…and that should never be the solution!!!