In this second episode of Liberation Amplified, we return to the voices of Fran and Heather, two women who experienced incarceration at the Prison for Women (P4W) in Kingston, Ontario. This episode continues our two-part series on the creation of the P4W Memorial Collective, narrated by Deeana Deal. Joining them is Natacha Guala, an Argentinian lawyer and researcher currently working as a postdoctoral fellow with the PTP.
We learn how, in the summer of 2015, more than a hundred people gathered on the grounds of the now-closed P4W for what was meant to be the final in a series of Healing Circles. For many, it reopened wounds — but it also sparked a collective purpose: to remember those who lived and died behind those walls and to ensure their stories would never fade away.
The P4W Memorial Collective emerged from that moment. For many of its members — including former prisoners Fran Chaisson, Laurel Klaus, Jackie Davis, and Ann Hansen — remembering became a shared act of resistance and care. Guided by Indigenous Elders and inspired by the concept of relational memory, the Collective transforms remembrance into community action — a way to challenge injustice and to honour those still facing harm within Canada’s prisons.
Through these voices, we explore how memory becomes a living form of resistance — a garden that continues to grow, carrying forward the strength, resilience, and creativity of incarcerated women across Canada.
Listen in, remember with us, and help keep these voices alive.
To learn more about the Collective and their important work, please visit https://p4wmemorialcollective.com/
