DannyBoyinExile

When the recent hurricane was approaching Texas (and its myriad prisons), someone asked me about what happens to the inmates who find themselves in harm’s way, since they can’t exactly evacuate. Well, they may not be able to evacuate themselves – but they are relocated, nonetheless.
TDCJ has contingency plans to move entire prisons of inmates when it becomes necessary. In years past (though not this year), the Wynne Unit has actually hosted hundreds of them, which we quickly named “refugees”. Usually these inmates come from the units “down south”, by which we mean south of Houston. These units are located between Houston and Galveston, and happen to be directly in the path of most hurricanes – not to mention being low-lying areas in the first place.
In the event of an evacuation, all of the inmates are told to pack exactly ONE mesh bag (“chain bag”) of property, and the rest will be left behind. (The rest of the property, not the rest of the inmates!)
They are then loaded onto TDCJ buses for a trip up Highway 45, and generally relocated to the units around the Huntsville area. The whole process is is tedious for everyone involved, but we all know that it’s for our own good, and are usually pretty well-behaved.
Logistically, it’s a nightmare. I mean, NO prison in TDCJ has hundreds or thousands of empty bunks to house people in, so they do their best to FIND room for them. Every last cell will be filled to capacity – then they’ll line rows of mattresses in areas such as the gym, and house people there. It’s not pleasant, but at least they’ll be fed, clothed, and provided with things such as electricity and running water – which people in the free world may not have, in the areas they just left.
Having so many unexpected guests wreaks havoc on schedules for things like chow, showers, and commissary. And NO unit has enough extra food on hand to feed a few hundred extra inmates three meals a day, so we did notice a change in our regular menu. Not to mention shortages of things like socks and boxer shorts, which we run out of at the best of times. But I’ve experienced this several times, right here on the Wynne Unit, and I’ve always been surprised at how understanding most of the other inmates were. Many of us have BEEN on some of the units being evacuated, and it very well could have been US who ended up as unexpected guests on another unit, being called “refugees” and being blamed for everything that runs late. (Which is everything!)
It’s always a good idea to be nice to people, because you just may find yourself in the very same situation one of these days. The kindness you show someone today may very well be the same kindness that someone shows you in the future. People always remember a kindness, just as they’ll always remember an insult, so it’s never a bad idea to be nice to somebody – no matter how good or bad the weather is. So says DannyBoy.