ABOUT US
OUR VISION
To encourage re-legislation of the present laws concerning the medical care given to people who are imprisoned in our great nation, to ensure they are given appropriate medical treatment in a timely and consistent fashion. To hold accountable those agencies and people who are responsible for the medical care administered to our people.
WHAT WE DO
We advocate for the incarcerated by connecting with the appropriate administrations and when necessary taking legal measures to secure their necessary medical treatment.
OUR COMMUNITY
We serve a group of people that are unable to speak for themselves or take action on their own behalf. That they made mistakes and bad
decisions to end up in prison is not a reason to deny them medical care. Stacy’s 5-year prison sentence became a life sentence, because of the lack of medical attention she received in prison. We want to put an end to such needless loss of precious life.
A TRIBUTE TO STACY
OUR FOUNDING STORY by Tara (Bonelli) Clark
Growing up I always had visions of what my future would hold: prosperity and success in business. I always dreamed of having my own business. I graduated from University of Arizona with a BA degree. I had my own real estate investment company for over 7 years. We were very successful and did several multi-million dollar deals. Unfortunately, due some bad business decisions, and the 2007-2008 collapse of the housing market, I was investigated for fraudulent activity and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. I still believe I am innocent of those charges, but I accepted my sentence with the best possible attitude and made it through those tough two years of being incarcerated, 2014 and 2015. During my time being incarcerated I met one of my best friends, who was a huge blessing in my life, Stacy Renee Fox.
This is her story…
When I was imprisoned I was working for UNICOR. In this position inmates have full time jobs. I was hired to assist with the business development of the program to maximize product inventory and distribution. While working for UNICOR I met Stacy Fox. At first we did not like each other that much. I thought that she was a bit slow in getting her work done, and both staff and inmates told me that she was a hypochondriac. After a month of tip toeing around each other, we buried the hatchet and agreed to work together without animosity.
After those first few months I realized that Stacy was anything but a hypochondriac.
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Stacy was trying to communicate to the medical staff how much her stomach hurt. She often would throw up and could not keep food down. Stacy would often go to “sick call” which is the prison’s version of a doctor’s visit. I came in for lunch one day and Stacy was still sitting in the chairs waiting to be seen by medical staff. She had been sitting there since I left for work at 6:00 am. It was now 11:30am and no one had been by to check on her. The discomfort and pain were etched all over her face. I knew that she was not faking and something was drastically wrong. Shortly thereafter, Stacy was transferred back to Montana on a WRIT (Writ of Certiorari) where an inmate goes back to their sentencing court.
While Stacy sat in a local county jail in Missoula, Montana, the pain was getting worse and worse. She was complaining more and more. Still nothing was being done to either assist her or come to a diagnosis.
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When Stacy returned to Dublin, CA, six weeks later, she was pale and very weak. She was a shell of the Stacy that had walked out of the door six weeks earlier. Stacy informed me that when she came through receiving, the officer had her undergo a body scan to look for contraband. When then scan was completed the officer was confused by a very visible spot on her liver. The officers actually accused her of shoving contraband all the way up to her liver, until medical personnel informed them that was impossible.
Stacy and I were approved as “town drivers” which meant that the prison gave us keys to a 20 foot box truck to travel all around northern CA to pick up equipment. This job made us feel like we were no longer inmates for a brief moment; like we were the rest of society commuting to and from work. I really appreciated and loved that job.
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Unfortunately for Stacy, she was getting increasingly worse and would not be able to assist me with the manual labor part of the job. So we had an arrangement: I did all the heavy work and she sat back and did not get hurt.
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Tara Clark & Stacy Fox at Disneyland in 2017
On one of our trips to Sacramento, Stacy’s pain increased severely and she was toppled over in pain. Our OIC (Officer in Charge) was driving in the truck next to us. I begged him to pull over so we could take her to UC Davis to get checked out. He told me to continue driving back to the prison and they would handle her there.
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Another 6 weeks passed and nothing was done. Stacy was so sick she looked ghost white and had lost 20 pounds. I went to the officer station and begged them to take her out to the hospital. The OIC thought she was having appendicitis; I thought it was a hernia. When Stacy returned from the emergency room 7 days later, she informed me that I was right that there was something wrong but my diagnosis was wrong. She informed me that she had stage 4 colon cancer which had metastasized to her liver and lungs. I was speechless. I went back to my cell and cried. About 30 minutes later I pulled myself together and asked her what the course of treatment was. She informed me she did not know yet; she had to see the medical personnel the following day. At that time the Physician’s Assistant, who ignored her for 2 years, came in and apologized to her. The Unit Manager was all too ready to have Stacy transferred to Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. I told Stacy she would die there before she got treatment. I knew what Carswell was like. I had been there for 6 months before I was transferred to California. Stacy asked the Warden for a compassionate release and was granted one five months after her initial request. Stacy was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer on May 25, 2015; she was released to go home on October 23, 2015.
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Stacy contacted me in March, 2017 and asked to come visit for a couple of days at my home in San Francisco. When I laid my eyes on her, I realized this was the last time I was going to see Stacy living with any discernible energy. Stacy stayed with me for 3 weeks before returning back to Washington.
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I cherished that time I had with her. I knew that despite her positive attitude that she only had a few months to live. I knew in my heart I had to imprint every memory of her being during those days. Stacy’s trip lasted for three weeks before she returned to Washington.
After she returned home to Washington State in March of 2017, Stacy called me at 2am asking me to pray for her as she was about to start the next round of chemo and she was scared that it was going to kill her. A week after receiving this request, Stacy’s sister called to inform me that she was in the hospital. I asked her sister how serious it was and I was told they did not know. A couple of days later, Stacy video-chatted me to inform me that she was undergoing a blood transfusion. She was hysterical. I asked Stacy if she needed me in Washington and she said that she did. I then asked if she needed me there for a visit or if she needed me there for a few months. She informed me that she would like me to stay for a long period of time. I knew at that point that this was the beginning of the end of Stacy’s precious life.
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Stacy Fox in wheelchair in 2017 with Tara Clark
Stacy Fox in wheelchair in 2017 with Tara Clark and other friends in Washington State
I subleased my apartment, packed my bags and took a leave of absence from work to be by her side by the end of that week. Stacy continued to fight while she was in the hospital. The doctors gave her six months or less to live. She would not accept that prognosis and she still wanted to continue chemo treatment. The next round of chemo took a heavy toll on her body. As a result, her life expectancy was changed from “up from 6 months to live” to “two weeks or less” to live. The chemotherapy helped kill her, but at that point, it was her only hope.
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On June 3rd, 2017pm at 6:35pm Stacy Renee Fox took her last breath. About 15 minutes prior, I was sitting by her side and I promised her that her death would not be in vain; that she would leave a legacy. I cried and told her how much she meant to me. Stacy took her last breath and passed on peacefully.
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After two days of mourning, I reached out to Therese Crepeau to inform her of Stacy’s death. Therese was a fellow inmate that served time with both Stacy and I at the camp in Dublin, CA. I I told Therese about my promise to Stacy and asked her if she would take part in making my promise come true. She prayed about it and informed me that she thought it was a great idea and wanted to be a part of this endeavor. So, Stacy’s Voice was founded in June of 2017. Every inch along the way God has opened every door for this labor of love to propel it forward with lightning speed. The extent of the response we have received, and in such a short time, has been answer to our prayers to God.
As I sit here and write this account of my relationship with Stacy, I am in awe at how God has strategically placed different people and events in my life to bring about this opportunity. After my incarceration, I went to work for Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) which allowed me to reintegrate back into society and work for a non-profit full time. I left that position before I went to Washington to help care for Stacy in her last few weeks of life. During my time with Stacy, I had time to think and reflect on what my purpose now was and how I could create a legacy for her. I can look back now and see that everything has been lined up by God to prepare me for this great responsibility, this great endeavor, Stacy’s Voice, a non-profit which advocates for the medical needs of the incarcerated population in the United States.
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“Incarceration in the United States is one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the second-highest per-capita incarceration rate, behind Seychelles (which in 2014 had a total prison population of 735 out of a population of around 92,000). In 2013 in the US, there were 698 people incarcerated per 100,000 population. This is the U.S. incarceration rate for adults or people tried as adults.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 2,220,300 adults were incarcerated in US federal and state prisons, and county jails in 2013 – about 0.91% of adults (1 in 110) in the U.S. resident population. Additionally, 4,751,400 adults in 2013 (1 in 51) were on probation or on parole. In total, 6,899,000 adults were under correctional supervision (probation, parole, jail, or prison) in 2013 – about 2.8% of adults (1 in 35) in the U.S. resident population. In 2014, the total number of persons in the adult correctional systems had fallen to 6,851,000 persons, approximately 52,200 fewer offenders than at the year end of 2013 as reported by the BJS. About 1 in 36 adults (or 2.8% of adults in the US) was under some form of correctional supervision – the lowest rate since 1996. On average the correctional population has declined by 1.0% since 2007; while this continued to stay true in 2014 the number of incarcerated adults slightly increased in 2014.”- Wikipedia
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Stacy Fox in the Hospital in June 2017
Stacy Fox in the Hospital in June 2017
Stacy’s Voice was founded on the premise that Stacy would not have died if she had gotten proper treatment over those 2 years that she constantly and consistently complained of illness and stomach pain. Stacy did not have to die and we will work towards preventing such needless deaths by being a voice of advocacy for all those who are incarcerated and need better medical treatment.
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Stacy was not a career criminal. She was incarcerated for a minor drug trafficking and possession charge and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. She did her time with good behavior and did not harbor any negative feelings about being convicted.
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But the truly sad part of the story is that her crime caused her to lose her life. She died from a lack of proper medical care while in prison, a condition that would not even happen in many third world countries.
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We as Americans deserve the same protection that the Constitution promises: to protect the incarcerated from “cruel and unusual punishment” as any other American. Allowing individuals to die while they are incarcerated because they lack basic and humane medical care is a travesty of justice.
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We at Stacy’s Voice are passionate about changing the status quo on this subject and fighting for the rights of the incarcerated.
I am blessed to have had an amazing friendship with this wonderful woman, Stacy Fox. She was the true definition of a friend and loved everyone with all of her soul. She was loving, compassionate, supportive, empathetic, understanding, caring, creative, funny, talented, and patient. She was a tomboy who loved to hunt, fish, and fix anything she could get her hands on. She also had a girly side to herself where she loved her makeup and getting her nails done. Stacy had enriched my life with her beautiful spirit. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to bond with Stacy because the impact she had had on my life will be with me forever.
Stacy, I will miss you, but you will never be forgotten. I will cherish the time we had together and I am blessed to have known you. Thank you for your strength, your courage and your determination. I will carry your memory with me daily.
Stacy Fox in the Hospital in 2017
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