On Friday afternoons from 1-5pm, a group of friends and comrades sit outside of the Lane County Jail. We welcome people out of jail, and offer them drinks, food, bus passes, basic first aid supplies, cigarettes, and whatever other treats we pulled together that day. A canopy, table and camp chairs are set up, and two banners are hung. One reads “Everything for Everyone – Todo para Todos”, and the other reads “Jail Support – Apoyo para los Encarcelados”, with a drawing of a pig below the word “no”. We chose Fridays because a high concentration of people are released before the weekend.
The jail is located at the juxtaposition of 5th street and Olive, a four-story brick building surrounded by a steel black fence. The fence around the jail is not an institution, but was built after one of several protests in 2020. Originally able to cage 120, today the jail can cage 411, largely due to a levy on property taxes that was passed to keep funding it. Two blocks away stands Eugene’s 5th street market, a property development owned by one of the county’s most wealthy property developers, Brian Obie, filled with retail and hospitality renters(including Nike), upscale hotels, and luxury apartments.
As the oldest building in all of Lane County, the jail is emblematic of a state that has tried since its inception to incarcerate itself out of social and economic inequity and, racial and systemic oppression. This jail, as with all jails and prisons, holds history layered in pain, loss, and injustice. The walls hold stories we’ll never know.
These days, most of the people we meet were were arrested for charges related to being poor or unhoused, with the most common one being “Violation of Park Rules”. Once inside, people are stripped of their most basic rights to safety and dignity. One month ago, on July 25th, 2025, 37 year-old Karah Lynn Bowman died while in custody due to medical neglect. Karah Lynn deserved care, not a cage. She was loved, and her family is seeking justice.
This world would be a much better place without Lane County Jail in it. Until that day, we’ll be here to offer a little bit of the care that is so lacking inside. A hot cup of coffee, a cold drink, snacks and meals, a ride, a phone charge, but more than anything a welcoming face, companionship, and solidarity. This is just a fraction of the care that jails, prisons, and police exist to deny every day. Moments of welcoming people out also allow us to share information about what conditions are like inside or just to chat, smile, share fresh air, and dream of a better world.
Come join us on Fridays from 1 to 5 PM. Phone chargers or phone banks are always welcome, as are hygiene kits, cold drinks, nutritious snacks & cigarettes of any kind.