Nearly 1 in 6 transgender Americans have been to prison – 1 in 2 of which are Black transgender Americans. Once behind bars, it can be challenging to receive the proper care to support your gender affirming needs. If you or a loved one is a Plume member and have been incarcerated, we would stop payments on the patient’s Plume account and assist in transferring all health records over to the correct facility. 


In order to do so, we would require a Release of Information to be completed by the patient in order to assist in transferring their care to another facility. If you are a family member or loved one communicating on behalf of a Plume member’s care due to incarceration, we would also need a Release of Information completed by the patient indicating permission for another individual to speak on their behalf. This is required to be in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect personal health information and maintain patient privacy.


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Release of Information form

You may download and fill out our Release of Information at the bottom of the page.  Once completed, send it to the Care Team via Spruce or members@getplume.co. We will then follow up to confirm the request and send the information to whoever you have requested. If you are having trouble downloading the form below, let your Care Team know and we will manually send you the form.


Resources

If you or someone you know has experienced assault, discrimination, forced isolation or denial of health care while in detention of any kind, contact Lambda Legal’s Help Desk at 866-542-8336. The following resources may support and answer questions about transgender peoples’ rights behind bars.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

The ACLU’s National Prison Project works to ensure that prisons, jails and other places of detention comply with the Constitution, domestic law and international human rights principles. 

Phone: 212-549-2500.

 

Black and Pink

Black and Pink is a network of LGBTQ pen pals that also produces a newsletter of stories, advice and essays about being LGBT in prison.

Email: members@blackandpink.org 


Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual

The Columbia Human Rights Law Review compiles A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, which contains information about “challenging your conviction or your sentence, your rights while you are in prison and different ways to obtain an early release from prison.”


Just Detention International

Just Detention International is a health and human rights organization that battles sexual abuse and supports survivors, including TGNC individuals, in all forms of detention

Phone: 202-506-3333

Email: info@justdetention.org


National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)

NCTE fights discrimination and violence against transgender people in prison and beyond, and has published “LGBT People and the Prison Rape Elimination Act” (bit.ly/MK1meQ). 

Phone: 202-903-0112

Email: NCTE@transequality.org

 

National PREA Resource Center (PRC)

The National PREA Resource Center (PRC) provides information about implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in the U.S. corrections system, including current research and updates about local staff training programs.

 

Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP)

SRLP’s Prisoner Justice Project provides legal services to improve the conditions of confinement and reduce the number of people held in prison and jail, and also helps develop guidelines on classification and care of transgender individuals. SRLP’s Prisoner’s Advisory Committee (PAC) asks incarcerated people for policy input and circulates a newsletter. 

Phone: 212-337-8550 or

Email: info@srlp.org 


Transformative Justice Project of Illinois

Transformative Justice Project of Illinois is a collective of lawyers, social workers, activists and community organizers working for prison abolition, transformative justice and gender self-determination. 

Phone: 773-272-1822 or 

Email: info@tjlp.org


Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice (TGIJP)

The TGIJP mission is to challenge human rights abuses committed against transgender, gender variant/genderqueer and intersex (TGI) people in California prisons and beyond. TGIJP helps out low-income transgender people both inside and outside of prison; volunteers respond to letters from incarcerated people.

Phone: 510-533-3809 

Email: info@tgijp.org