SHAWANGUNK — CSEA members working in our state prisons are ensuring resources needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic are quickly produced.
At Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, our members oversaw inmates working in the facility’s garment shop until recently. In under a week, the shop known for making t-shirts distributed to prisons across the state had a new mission.
“In under a week, they had the t-shirt shop completely transformed into a bottling facility for hand sanitizer,” said Shawangunk Correctional Facility Local President Jack Miller. “It was remarkable to see how quickly they were up and running.”
CSEA member Denise Hulsey, a general industrial training supervisor, oversees the program in coordination with several other staff. Inmates bottle hand sanitizer in smaller 2-ounce bottles, which are then distributed across the state. Hulsey and inmates emptied the shop of thousands of pounds of fabrics and sewing machines before the changeover took place.
“The construction team that came in installed filters that change the air in the room every 10 minutes,” said Hulsey. “The filters are so good that you can’t even smell the sanitizer. We have protective equipment for the inmates and our fire safety crew comes in every 30 minutes to monitor the air quality.”
While DOCCS has shuttered other industry programs during the pandemic, workers bottling hand sanitizers are working long hours. Hulsey said at her facility, inmates are volunteering for the extra shifts.
“I’ve had great morale in my shop as far as helping produce what the state needs,” said Hulsey. “They’re worried about the impact the virus may have on their own families, so there’s a real incentive to get this stuff out there.”
Hand sanitizer is also being bottled at Great Meadow and Albion Correctional Facilities. Hulsey joined other DOCCS staff at Great Meadow for training prior to her shop transitioning to a bottling facility.
In addition to meeting the critical need for hand sanitizer, Hulsey said the vocational program continues to serve its broader purpose.
“I am very passionate about what I do,” said Hulsey, who has worked nearly two years at the facility. “I teach the inmates not just to make a t-shirt or to bottle hand sanitizer, but to be able to get a job, do your best, work hard, and move up. If they’re being released, these are skills that carry over.”
— Jessica Ladlee
