Transform Dane

Shorten The Distance - Transform Dane "I can’t help but look around and notice everyone seems convinced that what’s breaking this country is disagreement. That if we could just convince the “other side” to see things correctly; vote corre...

NEW BLOG: "I look around & notice everyone seems convinced that what’s breaking this country is disagreement. It isn’t. It’s distance between the people making decisions & the people living with the consequences. Distance that looms so large no one feels responsible."
transformdane.com/distance/

Direct Mail has gotten busy enough to prompt these new fulfillment sheets. At Transform Dane we believe direct outreach through mail is crucial to bringing impacted voices to political action.

Transform Dane Transform Dane is a nonprofit dedicated to the humanity of incarcerated people. Our long-term goal is to create new policies that respect the inherent dignity of all human beings.

transformdane.com
What started as a small blog screaming into a void, has grown into a proud nonprofit. Our website was updated recently to reflect that growth. If you haven't checked it out in a while or ever, give us a visit. If you have information, experiences, or want to help, please reach out!

Transform Dane: supporting incarcerated people and transforming local carceral systems - WORT-FM 89.9 Hale sits down with Eli (he/him), Becky (she/they), and Emrys (he/him) of Transform Dane, a new nonprofit that works to support incarcerated people and transform local carceral systems in Wisconsin […...

THANK YOU to WORT-FM & Hale for hosting Transform Dane on Queery last night! Lifting up all voices in our community is a key part of our work & what better place to speak to that than local radio. Check below to listen to the broadcast

www.wortfm.org/transform-da...
soundcloud.com/wort-fm/tran...

No Chimney Required - Transform Dane Rehabilitation can’t exist in a vacuum. You can’t “fix” someone you’ve stripped of dignity, community, connection, hope, and choices. These conditions only further harm and reinforce the “broken recor...

NEW BLOG POST: Eli outlines a Resource Guide now available to anyone incarcerated who may find it helpful. Read on here; which also provides links to the PDF file for printing and sharing.

transformdane.com/no-chimney-r...

Transform Dane will be live on WORT-FM! We will be sharing the evolution of the nonprofit, what we do, where we are headed and how to get involved. Tune in tomorrow (12/17/25), 7:00-730pm CST. Available on local Madison radio, SoundCloud on the WORT-FM page or via the WORT-fm app (Android, iOS).

It's #givingtuesday. This year, consider showing support for Transform Dane as we prepare to mail out care packages to WI jails & prisons. These are not just prisoners, they are our future neighbors & community. Connection rehabilitates & restores us.
transformdane.com/home-2/suppo...

Thank you to Suzanna for this awesome homemade Transform Dane embroidery! Absolutely love it and it will hang in a spot of honor here in the Queer Compound! ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜

A Year Outside the Lines (Content warning: alcoholism, addiction) Dear Mom, Today marks one full year of continuous sobriety—the longest I’ve been sober since my junior year of high school in 2005. I want to discuss what th...

NEW BLOG POST: "It becomes a very strange line to cross, as I did, finding myself in one room of addicts criminalizing addiction, only to be locked in a similar room of addicts, having our addictions criminalized."

transformdane.com/a-year-outsi...

From the Transform Dane mailbox! Inmate Art from the Dane Co Jail. & with the area's first snowfall overnight, I think many of us would agree!
Support direct mail!
transformdane.com/home-2/suppo...

Our #1 outreach program is Direct Mail to incarcerated humans. Mail is more than a lifeline, it's connection. And human connection rebuilds, heals, and restores.
transformdane.com/direct-mail-...
transformdane.com/home-2/suppo...

STATE OF WI TO: Sheriff Barrett
"It appears you have violated your duty to provide public records under WI § 19.31. You are commanded to immediately return...records responsive to the request or in the alt, appear before this court & provide reason why relief should not be awarded." -Dane Co Circuit

Transform Dane is at the WI Capitol NOW in support of AB 604. This is a bipartisan bill that would support re-entry from incarceration by providing newly released humans with healthcare and support.

Transform Dane mailbox: Today's artist loves sketching. She requested pictures of actresses from classic movies to sketch from our direct mail program, and this was the result.
Request direct mail:
transformdane.com/direct-mail-...
Support the program!
transformdane.com/home-2/suppo...

The Sound of Silence (Content warning: Solitary confinement) Dear Mom,  A lot of unbelievable change was born out of 2024, swirling around my redefined “participation” in the criminal justice system. There is no doubt a...

NEW BLOG: "I owe...gratitude to these human beings we call criminals. They were there...a literal captive audience for my Transgender Former Cop jail open mic. They looked past the...stigmas in a way that only those who have pleaded for the same from the world can."
transformdane.com/soundofsilen...

Fantastic event by The Big Gay Spooky Market! Met tons of awesome people, had great conversations about needed reform and distributed plenty of stickers! Thanks to all who stopped by!

#transformdane #danecountywi #incarcerationreform #nonprofit #outreach #wisconsinnonprofit

EVENT ALERT! @transformdane.bsky.social will have a booth at The Big Gay Spooky Market, SUNDAY OCTOBER 26, 10-4. Stop by and chat for information, updates, support, stickers, frog mascots & more! The event is at the WI Rugby Sports Complex, Cottage Grove, WI. Hope to see you there!

@transformdane.bsky.social in support of No Kings Day 2025✊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️.

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE. Although our work is focused on advocacy, awareness & outreach, every organization is composed of individuals, each with a unique journey. The origin of our journey is deeply rooted in this developing situation. All inquiries should be directed to info@transformdane.com.

Dear Mom, A Rainbow Bridge Through Cement Walls (Content warning: Pet loss, solitary confinement) (Mailed from Jefferson County Jail, August 16, 2024) Dear Mom,  One year ago today, you brought Stella to the vet to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I wa...

NEW BLOG POST: "My account is...retold not because I feel I am the most extreme case of systemic injustice or abuse...It is retold because my background, my education, and my privilege give me a voice to tell it...my past contributions to it demand that I tell it."
transformdane.com/a-rainbow-br...

Another fantastic event, thank you to Deborah Zalensne and Chris Blackwell. The statistics on solitary confinement prove total system failure. Mental health worsens, recidivism soars, staffing is taxed and costs are substantially higher. The individual suffers alone, but as a society, we all lose.

Absolutely breathtaking work by Journey to Justice. Solitary Confinement harms everyone involved; through exacerbation of mental health conditions, violations of constitutional and human rights, increased rates of recidivism, and increased strain on jail and prison budgets and staffing.

Members of Transform Dane are currently attending the Journey for Justice Tour on Madison's West side....an organized campaign on reforms to the overuse of solitary confinement in incarcerated settings. Blessed to have these warriors in our community.
journeytojusticetour.com

In May 2025, a federal lawsuit was initiated in the Western WI District Court regarding extreme confinement conditions in DCJ. The issue of ethical confinement is a constantly evolving issue. This challenges those issues, especially as they pertain to Constitutional rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.

Dear Mom, A Period Piece - Transform Dane "These words are not a plea for radical new ideas, Mom. It’s a plea to start restoring humanity at its most fundamental levels. It’s a plea to begin considering what outcomes we want to see when the c...

NEW BLOG POST....discussing reproductive health in DCJ & beyond.
"Committing a crime has a prescribed outcome of potentially being incarcerated. Not trapped in a jail cell with blood dripping down your leg, or losing your own reproductive autonomy."
READ ON: transformdane.com/dear-mom-a-p...

Wisconsin Open Records Law 101. "Transparency is an essential function of a representative government". In environments like jails and prisons, or other encounters with law enforcement out of the public eye, this is especially true. The doors may not be open but the records are. Know your rights

Mail is a lifeline in jails and prisons. @transformdane.bsky.social kept every letter safe in a binder...this one represents a single month. Write to your incarcerated loved ones, even if you haven't sent "snail mail" in a decade. Even if you feel you "don't know what to say".

"...she is unable to freely use bleach, which is considered contraband. She has to go to a guard on duty. If that guard is understanding and compassionate, they may fulfill the request, but this is not always the case."