On Feb. 5, twenty students from Dr. Elfriede Wedam's Sociology 216 Sociology of Violence visited Kolbe House Catholic Ministry to Cook County Jail. The students were hosted by several volunteers as well as staff of Kolbe House, where they were shown artwork depicting some of the jail detainees' stories. They weren't allowed inside the jail but heard from a formerly incarcerated woman and the grandmother of a currently incarcerated young man. The students toured the perimeter of the jail complex, including the mental health clinic, each being the largest of its kind in the U.S. Students are currently engaging in various service activities, including writing letters to detainees, some of whom have been incarcerated for a few weeks while others for several years, awaiting adjudication. Other students are meeting with formerly incarcerated men while several have organized a donation campaign for basic food and personal care items that are in short supply in the jail.

A group of students from SOCL 216 held a fundraiser on April 12th and 14th for Kolbe House Jail Ministry as well to support detainees and the formerly incarcerated from Cook County Jail.