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Community Jail Support
PDX 2025 Guide

June 28, 2025 • Luka Grafera & Friends

This guide was originally designed for print. Download the zine and propagate it. ↓

• CJS — PDX 2025 Guide (Color)
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• CJS — PDX 2025 Guide (Grayscale)
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• CJS — PDX 2025 Guide (Color Print Layout)
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• CJS — PDX 2025 Guide (Grayscale Print Layout)
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Table of Contents

• What Is This Guide?
• Why Jail Support?
• Where Should I Be?
• What Should I Bring?
• How Should I Show Up?
• What About Protests?
• Quick Reference

What Is This Guide?

This is a guide for providing jail support that contains information specific to the context of Portland, Oregon in June 2025. Though some of this information may quickly become outdated, we hope it will remain useful as a starting point from which you can adapt your strategies. We also hope that readers in other cities will find the content helpful as a framework.

Who Are the Authors?

We’re a small informal collective of anarchists who have organized jail support efforts since 2020, during protest movements and beyond, fine-tuning our practices along the way.

There is no one correct way to do jail support– the guidance contained within is based on what has worked best for us. Deviate as you see fit!

To ask questions, coordinate shifts, or get hands-on help, contact:

• ContactPDX_JailSupport@proton.me
• PDX_JailSupport
• PDX-JailSupport

Or donate to support our efforts at:

• StayOnTheLawn

Why Jail Support?

As abolitionists working toward the end of policing and prisons, we’re up against systems of oppression that can feel immovable at times. Jail support is one direct way that we can challenge the utility of these systems, and provide critical relief to those affected by them.

Have you ever been arrested and released from jail? If nobody was around to help, you likely understand why jail support is a pressing need. Treatment inside the jail is abysmal, and police do nothing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of a person after their incarceration. It falls on us as community members to oppose the mistreatment of our neighbors, and part of that is being there when they come back to us.

Arrestees can be released at any time of day, in any weather, with or without personal belongings or suitable clothing. They may be injured, traumatized, disoriented, or denied their basic needs. They may be a great distance from their home or other safe place, without resources to navigate or means to travel. Being a kind person present to listen and offer solutions to these problems makes all the difference to somebody who has been treated with cruelty and contempt by the state.

If you’re looking for an accessible way to maximize your impact as an unaffiliated individual, jail support is a great option. All you need to get started is a buddy and some basic supplies. Set up a display of offerings, prepare to be compassionate and receptive, and start greeting people!

Where Should I Be?

Jail Support typically takes place at the Multnomah County Justice Center (★), on the city block framed by SW Main St & SW Madison St, between 2nd & 3rd Ave.

In addition to people leaving the jail, you will encounter people going in and out of the building for court appearances. Federal court takes place at Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse (▲) to the North, and immigration hearings take place at the Edith Green Federal Building (⬛) to the South, so setting up at the Justice Center (the JC) gives us a central position to help anyone dealing with the legal system.

The exit where people are released has changed several times over the years. At the time of publishing, releases leave through the temporary ramp near 3rd & Main, on the north side of the building (D).

Previous to the recent hostile architecture construction project, the side door on the south end of the building (B) was used as the main exit.

At other times, releases have exited through the front door (A) facing Chapman Square, or the back door (C), where it’s best to set up across the street, away from PPB parking.

If in doubt, spend time around the JC and pay attention to where releases are happening. Look for individuals exiting the building with a small stack of paperwork, often carrying a plastic bag of their belongings, and ask them where they exited.

What Should I Bring?

If all you’re able to bring is yourself, that has the potential to make a huge impact on someone who has just experienced the dehumanization of incarceration. However, the supplies we consider the basics are:

Snacks

We stock a variety of easy-to-eat, individually wrapped snacks. The food provided at MCDC is pretty bad, and you’ll encounter people who haven’t eaten anything decent in a long time. Consider allergens, dietary restrictions, and safe food storage in your choices.

Water

The environment inside MCDC doesn’t exactly encourage good hydration, and many people released from jail will have a long walk or transit ride ahead of them. Consider chilling or freezing water bottles when the weather is hot.

Cigarettes

Many people leave the jail craving nicotine, and a cigarette can provide much-needed regulation during a crisis. We offer a choice between regular and menthol when possible. Keep them in your pocket to hand out a few at a time— a full pack left on a table of free items will sometimes disappear.

Consider packing a variety of other items to assist with common needs and issues:

Power Bank	Hats	Gloves	Socks
Shoelaces	Drink Mix	Lighters	Transit Fare
Hand Sanitizer	First Aid	Hygiene Kits	Hand Warmers
Ponchos	Mylar Blankets	Narcan	Sunscreen

With experience, you’ll notice which items are typically needed in which quantities, and how that fluctuates seasonally. Make note any time someone asks about an item you don’t have, and tailor your supplies accordingly.

Think about your display— Depending on where you’re set up, there may not be a good place to lay out your offerings, so consider packing a table, and some trays for organization. Make preparations to keep yourself and your supplies dry if there’s rain in the forecast. We find that a sign with the word “Free” featured prominently helps put people at ease. A trash bag and sanitizing wipes are useful to keep the space tidy and welcoming.

Supplies are made available to everyone (except cops), whether they’re transitioning out of jail, passing through court, experiencing homelessness, or simply passing by. We don’t restrict the amount of items any one person can take— We trust them to determine their own needs, and encourage taking extra for others. Part of our purpose is to restore autonomy to those deprived of it, and that means keeping any impulses to manage how people interact with the supplies in check.

We do set out a limited collection of items to encourage selectiveness and limit decision fatigue, but engage with each person and try to anticipate any needs they might have that aren’t met by the supplies on the table. For example:

If someone offers to pay, we generally reassure them that they don’t need to, but will accept a donation toward future supplies if they insist.

How Should I Show Up?

The Justice Center is heavily surveilled, with high resolution security cameras mounted all over the building. Dress to your own risk tolerance. You may prefer to wear something inconspicuous or cover your tattoos. If you drive, you may prefer to park some distance away from the building. Or, you may choose to accept being identifiable and forgo the opsec measures. In any case, dress comfortably for the weather, and wear a mask for the protection of the community.

Yours may be the first face someone sees when they get out, after being surrounded by cops for who knows how long. Meet them with kindness!

Some people will want to celebrate their freedom with you. Some will want you to validate and reflect their anger. Some will want to recount the violence and injustice of their arrest. If you’re able to stay receptive and practice empathy, it can provide a powerful counter to the hostility of the carceral system. This can be taxing work— seek out support to process any resulting strong feelings or vicarious trauma, and set boundaries as needed.

Make sure you’re eating and drinking enough, decompressing between interactions, and taking the occasional break to walk around the block. Be realistic about your capacity and do what you need to do to avoid burnout— even if you’re only able to show up for a couple of hours, it means the world to anyone released during that time.

Many people will talk about the circumstances of their arrest on their way out of jail, but this information doesn’t affect our choice to offer assistance. Maybe the person you’re helping did something genuinely harmful, maybe not. Regardless, we operate on the principle that everyone deserves to have their basic needs met.

Jail support requires management of your own discomfort, and ideally an expansion of your comfort zone. You’ll interact with a wide range of people, some of whom are in heightened emotional states, ungrounded from consensus reality, or behaving in socially stigmatized ways. This calls for flexibility and openness, as well as skillfully deployed boundaries.

You may occasionally encounter people who create unsafe situations for you and others. Deescalation techniques and a calm, level demeanor can go a long way. Manage your own reactivity, and consider whether someone else’s behavior is actually threatening, or if it’s just unexpected or unfamiliar to you. Check in with your buddy and assess the situation together. It’s okay to disengage from a dangerous interaction, and as a last resort, it’s okay to pack up for the day. We have found such interactions to be exceedingly rare.

Be prepared to answer questions from curious community members about what you’re doing out there. We find that if we explain the basic principles behind our motivation to offer jail support, most people are onboard! Exercise risk-awareness when discussing political or otherwise contentious topics, and meet people where they’re at.

The occasional annoyance of some passerby sussing out your political leanings, blaming you for the riots, and wrecking your little stack of granola bars comes with the territory, and usually doesn’t amount to anything more. Passing appreciative comments and friendly car horns are far more common than anything confrontational.

What About Cops?

Being right outside the cop shop, you’ll naturally see a lot of cops and police vehicles going in and out of the building, and they may occasionally try to establish rapport. How you choose to engage or not is up to you. There’s value in making their jobs unpleasant by expressing your disapproval, though this increases the risk that you’ll experience retaliation. We find that ignoring them saves our energy and attention for our community, and creates an environment that’s more inclusive to those who may feel uncomfortable antagonizing cops.

What About Protests?

Jail support plays a crucial role in sustaining protest movements. Protesters who know they can count on the community to have their back through the system and be present when they get out of jail may be more willing to show up and risk arrest. Through offering care at the critical moments after arrest, we can also help minimize the trauma that might prevent them from continuing to participate in the ways they want to. In any case, “we keep us safe” means showing up for our comrades.

How people move through the system depends on the location of their arrest, and the arresting agency. Portland Police or Multnomah County Sheriffs may temporarily detain someone at a regional precinct, but we can generally expect anyone who is not released with a citation to be transported to the jail at the Justice Center, appearing in the MCSO database within hours.

To access the database, go to mcso.us/paid

Federal agencies such as DHS give far less insight into what is happening to our comrades after their arrests, complicating jail support efforts. Those arrested by DHS near the ICE facility on Macadam may be cited and released from that location after a few hours, or they may be transferred to MCDC and processed there.

In such cases, the arrestee will eventually appear in the MCSO database with “US Marshals” or “Other Agency” as the arresting agency, and “USM Hold” as the charge on their booking page.

If you know a comrade’s legal name, you can search it. Otherwise, filter according to the time range shortly after arrests took place.

On individual listings, we can glean some information that aids in organizing jail support.

We may see the severity of the charges and determine the likelihood that they may be released after a recognizance interview or held pending an arraignment. Arraignments, where a plea is entered in court and a judge sets conditions for release, generally take place in the morning or afternoon on the next business day following the arrest, so we can expect to wait longer on weekends or holidays.

We may see if bail is set and coordinate to have it paid, in accordance with our comrade’s preferences.

We may see that the status of the charges changes from “Unsentenced” to “Released”, and prepare for them to be let out of the building soon, usually between 30–120 minutes. Federal arrestees may be marked as “Released” to US Marshals, indicating that they are likely attending their preliminary hearing at Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, just north of the JC.

Calling the jail and inquiring about your comrade’s place in the release queue may yield more specific information. Importantly, it also communicates to the jailers that the community is paying attention and looking after the person they’ve incarcerated.

To contact jail staff, call (503) 988-3689

If you are a support person for someone who was arrested, contact Mass Defense Hotline PDX. If you know they require a certain medication, have pets who need care, would like their loved ones or workplace informed, or have any other specific needs and requests, coordinate to solve these problems, and be present as a familiar face at jail support when they get out.

To contact Mass Defense, call (971) 247-1072

Beyond jail support, it is our responsibility as a community to ensure the longterm wellbeing of our arrested comrades.

Ensuring that our comrades are supported in the long term doesn’t just improve their mental health as they recover— It also reduces the likelihood that the state will be able to exploit their isolation and pressure them to accept a plea deal that involves snitching, against their own interests and the movement’s.

Networks of mutual aid are suited to provide care packages, meal trains, therapeutic services, or help with other practical and material concerns. If you’re connected to such networks, consider offering to exchange contact information with arrestees at jail support, and putting them in touch if desired.

It’s prudent to do so in a way that doesn’t put arrestees in direct contact with each other, as this may jeopardize their legal cases in the event that they are asked to testify against one another. Consider asking arrestees to designate an advocate of their choice to coordinate care on their behalf, in a group with other advocates, or forming a group dedicated to their individual care.

Navigating charges can be overwhelming, especially shortly after experiencing trauma. Legal assistance and referrals are available to protesters from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG).

To contact the NLG, email pdxlegalobservers@nlg.org

What About Court Support?

Arraignments and other court appearances can be stressful, and though some comrades may prefer to keep it low-key, others may appreciate supportive community presence in the courtroom. Always ask, and respect their preferences.

If court support is desired, those attending arraignments in the JC should be prepared to go through a metal detector, and avoid bringing weapons or items you wouldn’t want a cop to see. At the federal courthouse, dress nicely (think button-down shirt) and be prepared to show ID. Avoid phone use in the courtroom, and show your solidarity without disrupting proceedings.

Quick Reference for Common Needs