As many of may know I spent 16 months in pretrial detention fighting a bogus nuclear terrorism charge over a suicide plot that risked no harm to anyone else. In the end I was sentenced to unlawfully attempting to possess a radioactive material (a non terrorism charge in the same chapter as moving fireworks across state lines) and sentenced to time served and two years of extended supervision. As part of my extended supervision I was to do six months in a Federal Halfway house so I could get back on my feet as I had lost nearly everything.
On March 4th of 2020 I checked into Rock Valley Community Programs, Inc, a non profit halfway house that gets most of their money from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections so tax dollars. I was assigned to room 25A. For the most part the halfway house was decent. Staff was respectful and meals were good. But then the COVID-19 scare hit. Because BOP had no plan in place they decided to lock everyone down. The only passes allowed were for emergency medical and to go to work if you had a job. I had to cancel three interviews. I wrote a post on Facebook stating that people should be allowed to go to one on one interviews if people can go to jobs at factories with hundreds of people. I tagged them in that post. Rather than talk to me they talked to my probation agent who said I couldn’t tag them in any more posts and I agreed.
Then last night a gentleman got taken out because he had a horrible cough and a fever. The hospital thought he had COVID-19 so they tested him, results wouldn’t be in for another 48 hours. I posted the status above and didn’t tag them in it. I just thought people had a right to know what was going on in tax funded facilities. I didn’t even name the facility. Everyone was freaking out about it last night because the gentleman who was removed was extremely social and everyone was in close proximity of him many times a day.
Then this morning I got a call from my probation officer. The halfway house was kicking me out for informing the public of what was going on at the halfway house in the post shown by screenshot above. I didn’t criticize the facility and didn’t name them I simply stated what was going on where I was at. And for that they kicked me out on the streets. They have not kicked anyone else out of the program in recent days. And they didn’t even take my temperature at all today.
So now I’m stuck in my car, having to quarantine there because there is a decent chance I have the virus. I can’t go stay with anyone because I could contaminate them. I don’t have money for a hotel because the halfway house was supposed to be to help me get back on my feet. And they just took someone who may be infected and sent them out into the public for merely stating that it could be at the facility. This is wrong on a humanitarian level but also on a public health level.
Please call Rock Valley Community Programs, Inc and let them know what you think of them kicking a potentially infected person, an infection they would have contracted at their facility, out on the streets for a simple Facebook post that didn’t criticize them or even name them. Their number is 608-741-4510. Also please review them on Google here. They need to know this is not right and know people are paying attention. They probably assume no one cares about people in Correctional institutions so this will go unnoticed. Also a friend set up a GoFundMe page for lodging if you can spare to help that would be greatly appreciated. But if you can’t please still call even if they hang up. Thanks.
Jeremy Ryan
Jeremy MotherFucking Ryan 