OUR PROJECT GUIDELINES

Utah Buddhist Prison Project

Objective

Founded in 2015 to provide Buddhist religious services at the Utah State Prison, the Utah Buddhist Prison Project provides multi-traditional Buddhist teachings and meditation to inmates seeking instruction at the Utah State Correctional Facility. This project will be successful if a 98% attainment of scheduled activity, per calendar year, is met and the participants agree on some level of shared benefit.

Scope

This project is limited to addressing the Buddhist instructional needs of the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, UT. Volunteers to this project will not be deterred from supporting nor obligated to participate on any other prison teaching projects.

Roles

Coordinator: Janice Davis

Coordinator Assistant: Keli Beard

Sangha/Group Leaders:

• Janice Davis - Steelyard Sangha (Two Arrows Zen)

• David Jones - Katog Jana Ling

• Igor Limansky - Dragon Heart Sangha (Two Arrows Zen)

• John Judd - Awakening Valley Sangha

Session Support:

• Volunteer sangha members

Volunteer Requirements

Volunteers should be members of a participating sangha and are expected to attend visits on a scheduled basis and undergo mandatory prison volunteer training, certification and a background check. Volunteers should expect to attend roughly one visit per 4-6 weeks. Forty-eight hours advance notice of inability to meet scheduled sessions is required and more advanced notice is preferable.

Plan

Our intention is to conduct visits once per week, with volunteers attending one visit every 4 weeks with the option to attend more frequently should the need arise, or less frequently based on Sangha size. Each participating Sangha will visit the prison on a specified weekend of the month. We currently have three Sanghas representing roughly 20 volunteers. Visits are conducted on Saturdays at two prison chapels: Bear High Side Men's Chapel and Emerald Women's Chapel.

Management

The coordinators have been appointed and can be changed anytime, when discussed by all the project members. One yearly meeting will be scheduled to review the project and make any changes. These dates will be determined and placed in the calendar. New Sanghas can be added to the project by contacting the coordinator. Ad-hoc meetings can be scheduled throughout the year as necessary. The project members can establish additional structure to the project including the formation of officers and general rules of governance and administration, if so needed.

Schedule

Visits are currently scheduled every Saturday at the following chapels and times:

• Men's Bear High Side Chapel 1:00 PM

• Women's Emerald Chapel 2:00 PM

Sangha Saturday Visit Schedules:

• Dragon Heart Zen Sangha: 1st Saturday of the month, Bear High Side and Emerald Chapels

• Awakening Valley: 2nd Saturday of the month, Bear High Side and Emerald Chapels

• Katog Jana Ling: 3rd Saturday of the month, Bear High Side

• Steelyard Zen Sangha: 3rd Saturday of the month, Emerald Chapel; 4th Saturday of the month, Bear High Side and Emerald Chapels

Should unexpected conflicts arise, changes can be facilitated through the coordinator or assistant coordinator. Volunteers should notify the coordinator or assistant coordinator as far in advance of the visit as possible so coverage can be acquired.

Prison Volunteer Training

Each volunteer must attend a prison volunteer orientation/training session to be allowed to enter the prison and conduct visits with inmates. The prison holds monthly orientation/training sessions on site at the prison and issues an ID badge upon completion. An annual refresher of the orientation is also required, which can be attended on site or via a digital training package.

WHEN: The second Saturday of each month from 9:00 - 11:00 AM.

WHERE: Sessions are held in the Stephen Anderson Building, directly north of security gate upon entrance into the prison grounds. (The gate guards can point it out)

WHAT: Volunteers do not need to sign up, just show up.

• Affiliation: Volunteers must be affiliated with a volunteer group and will be required to fill out documentation specifying their affiliation. Our group is the Buddhist Religious Services group.

• Identity: A valid ID, such as a driver's license, passport, state ID, etc. is required at the training so prison officials can verify each volunteer's identity and conduct a background check.

• Badge: Volunteers will be issued a badge upon completion of the training, which will be mailed to your home and typically received within 2-3 weeks time. Once the badge is received, the volunteer can begin attending visits.

  • Your ID badge is required for entry each time you visit the prison.

  MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LEAVE YOUR BADGE AT HOME! (everyone does this at least once!)