Fortune News is the quarterly journal of The Fortune Society, a New York City-based non-profit organization founded in 1967 with the purpose of serving the needs of those who have been incarcerated or are at risk of incarceration, and educating the public about prison conditions and criminal justice reform. Fortune News is sent free to prisoners nationwide.

The Fall 2000 issue of Fortune News will focus on the mental health crisis in American prisons.  Nationwide there are nearly 300,000 mentally ill inmates, and over half a million mentally ill probationers.  The rate of schizophrenia among inmates is nearly four times that of the general population.  The mentally ill have higher rates of unemployment, homelessness, histories of abuse and drug abuse, yet treatment and services for the mentally ill within prisons, and after release, are scarce.  Deinstitutionalization has deprived thousands of mentally ill people of the services they need, and has stripped communities of their ability to deal with the mentally ill.  This issue will look at the effects of deinstitutionalization, the inadequacy of treatment for the mentally ill, as well as the effects of prison on inmates' mental health.

Submission Requirements:
Articles must be no more than 1,500 words and submitted typed, double-spaced, and include the title, author's name and short bio of the author (incarcerated writers may submit handwritten manuscripts).  Articles may also be submitted as Microsoft Word files, on disk, or by email, to fortunenews@fortunesociety.org. Photos, illustrations, and artwork are welcome. Only manuscripts and accompanying materials submitted with a SASE will be returned. Please send submissions to:

Fortune News Submissions
c/o The Fortune Society
53 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010

The Fortune Society is unable to compensate writers monetarily. All those who submit articles will receive a free one-year subscription to Fortune News. For more information, please contact Shannon Herbert, Fortune News Editor at (212) 691-7554 extension 527 or email shannon@fortunesociety.org. More information about The Fortune Society can be found at www.fortunesociety.org.