Pillows for Prisoners donates 250 pillows to women in Salt Lake County Metro Jail

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4 News) – Pillows for Prisoners donated 250 pillows to be distributed to the women at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on Thursday.

“This year, an unprecedented pandemic has provided numerous challenges in our communities,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. “Every holiday season is additionally stressful for those who are incarcerated. I am pleased we can continue our partnership with Pillows for Prisoners for a third year and provide the gift of a pillow for our female inmates.”

Although COVID-19 safety precautions have changed numerous aspects at the jail, organizers said the annual gift of pillows for the women at the Salt Lake County Metro jail moved forward with a few changes to accommodate safety procedures.

To commemorate the gifts, a ceremonial pillow was presented to Sheriff Rosie Rivera on behalf of Pillows for Prisoners in recognition of the partnership and to thank the sheriff for her support in helping make the gift and distribution possible, according to a Facebook post.

Over the past three years, Pillows for Prisoners says they have worked to spread awareness about the realities of female incarceration and have raised more than $20,000 to purchase pillows for the women at Salt Lake County Metro Jail.

Pillows for Prisoners was started by two sisters, Cassandra Suite-Smith and Sabrena Suite-Mangum in 2017. Their younger sister Celeste, a sexual assault survivor, asked for money to purchase a pillow after she was incarcerated at Salt Lake County Metro Jail for drug and alcohol-related charges in August 2017, according to a Facebook post.