Carole Eady-Porcher

Carole Eady-Porcher moved to New York City at age 18 from her hometown Charleston, South Carolina. She went in and out of the prison system throughout her adulthood, three of those times being at Rikers Island. At one point she had been sent to Rikers when she was homeless and pregnant with her second child. When describing what giving birth was like while on Rikers she says it was, "very traumatizing...when I went into labor and went...to the hospital...I was shackled to the gurney in a paddywagon.” When released from the hospital she mentions, "I was supposed to bring my child back to Rikers Island with me to the nursery, but they didn’t have the paperwork so the officer took my child." Today she resides in the Bronx and takes part in the "Beyond Rosie’s Campaign", aimed at closing the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers while ensuring incarcerated women and gender expansive people receive comprehensive, trauma-informed and empowering services in order to heal and reenter society successfully. (Summary written by: Anne Lacy)