about two years ago Governor Murphy ordered the beleaguered Edna Mahan correctional facility for women to close following numerous allegations of sexual abuse and violence against the women incarcerated there well that closing process has begun after nearly 75 women were moved to a satellite location last week NJ Spotlight news was given a rare look at both the crumbling Edna facility as well as the new temporary prison that the women have been moved to I had a chance to speak with the new head of the Department of Corrections as well advocates for prison reform about these changes there were issues with physical infrastructure like inadequate ventilation it's burning up in you do have a fan but it's a very small fan nafisa Goldsmith and Cassandra seir both spent time at the ednam ahan correctional facility for women in Clinton and know all too well how poorly it was operated both from the physical building intermittent uh access to clean water at times as women you know that's challenging especially you know during our Administration period to the treatment of the women living in the facility human dignity was not at the Forefront I was there when you know officers were very verbally abusive and physically abusive after numerous allegations of sexual and physical assault in 2021 Governor Murphy ordered the ednam Manan facility to be closed then last year for 14 Corrections Officers were indicted on charges of conspiracy and official misconduct following the violent beating of multiple women in the facility just last week that process finally began with around 75 women being moved out of the hundan County facility to a nearby temporary space the Edna facility as a whole is a crumbling facility so in order to provide an appropriate physical facility we felt that it was necessary to move at least on a temporary basis until the permanent facility is constructed Kess is an advocate for incarcerated individuals and has been monitoring Edna for decades she's happy to see the administration led by the new commissioner of the Department of Corrections Victoria [ ó_ó_ ] finally making structural changes that are bringing life and dignity to those now at the satellite location instead of metal tables and chairs in the day room there are couches there are rugs it is much more homey much more comfortable one of the key goals of opening up this temporary facility was to make it as normative a facility as possible as normative a prison facility can be and that's everything from the furniture to the paint to the housing units how do you ensure that when it comes to oversight of what happens in the prison when it comes to those responsible uh for caring for these women that there are changes there significant enough that we don't see repeats of some of the accusations that came out of Edam love the question you have to be boots on the ground in order and you have to be involved you cannot sit in an ivory Tower and expect that there are changes that are going to happen you have to have the right individuals in administration that are working with the population that are buying into why cultural change is necessary and then you have to give them the tools to be able to do that so things like body warn camera and and fixed cameras and having staff accountability I am not hearing complaints certainly about sexual harassment I'm not hearing complaints about uh any harassment the culture change uh has been massive Kess says she does still hear complaints from the women in maximum security who are still at the original Edna facility living with the old decrepit infrastructure they won't be moved until the new building is built but as structural changes are being made There's A Renewed focus on restorative programs for the women who want to take advantage of them the programming pieces the address addressing trauma um the getting ready to re-enter the community it's the job Readiness piece it's the educational piece everything from securing a GED all the way through a bachelor's and it's the job Readiness folks coming in in the community who also comes into support seir says Outreach programs like that changed the course of her life and when a rep from Essex County Community College spoke to her it offered something she'd never had before a light you know a way out you know opportunity um of Second Chances and I really understood like this is what Second Chances may feel like and she just said hey you know when you guys come home if you give yourself a chance you know let me help you you know so you can start to walk into your power we can see that there is a lot of fault being put into what Corrections looks like in the state of New Jersey they have quite a bit of trauma informed uh programs education is something that is praised and uplifted they are now creating an honors system you know these are the things that you need to motivate people to move on but for all the women still incarcerated there it'll be a few more years before a new building is constructed and they can be relocated there is a location it's not yet disclosed and plans for the building are in the works in Clinton I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News [Music]