The COVID pandemic has highlighted racial inequities,
especially in its prisons and jails. At Rikers Island and the LA County jail, the population is about 56% Black, 33% Hispanic and 7.5 % White, according to New
York Magazine. The prison complex has been particularly hard-hit by
the pandemic, and both inmates and prison staff have faced
shortages of important medical supplies.

We’ve temporarily pivoted ruing COVID developed an initiative– the Makers Make Masks (MMM) Project – that aligns with our mission, culture and operational philosophy, helps us maintain program momentum with our
participants and graduates within the realities of the current crisis,
upholds Refoundry’s brand, and keeps us actively engaged with key
partners in the criminal justice community. The MMM Project
provides sewing machines, kits, computers, headphones and smart
phones to 20 formerly incarcerated people to sew washable and
adjustable fabric masks for donation to people incarcerated and to
staff at Rikers Island and the LA County jail. Refoundry will provide donated cut-to-size remnant fabric and elastic straps, and volunteer instructors will
deliver tutorials and ongoing training to homebound sewers.