What do you do when a member of your family is locked up for a crime you are sure he didn’t commit? Sheila Phipps paints.

What do you do when a member of your family is locked up for a crime you are sure he didn’t commit? Sheila Phipps paints.

Bring Your Own is a nomadic storytelling series that takes place in unconventional spaces within the community. Each month, eight storytellers have eight minutes to respond to a theme. BYO airs on All Things New Orleans and is a biweekly podcast on WWNO.org. This Bring Your Own story was produced as part of Unprisoned , a project of WWNO and Finding America . It was told on March 3 , 2016 at the Michalopoulos Studio, and later produced by Karen Gardner. The theme of the evening was "Born on

Louisiana is the incarceration capital of the world. That means more families have a loved one behind bars than in any other place.

Louisiana is the incarceration capital of the world. That means more families have a loved one behind bars than in any other place.

The way our criminal justice system works, there’s a significant cost to just being accused of a crime. Innocent or not, one way or another, you still have to pay. Especially if you have a past.

The way our criminal justice system works, there’s a significant cost to just being accused of a crime. Innocent or not, one way or another, you still have to pay. Especially if you have a past.

Our ongoing series Unprisoned has been bringing you stories of how mass incarceration affects New Orleans. Last time, we learned about New Orleans Municipal Court, the largest criminal court in Louisiana. Today, we follow Municipal Court to the New Orleans Mission — where a large number of homeless people who are facing municipal charges are being served directly.

Our ongoing series Unprisoned has been bringing you stories of how mass incarceration affects New Orleans. Last time, we learned about New Orleans Municipal Court, the largest criminal court in Louisiana. Today, we follow Municipal Court to the New Orleans Mission — where a large number of homeless people who are facing municipal charges are being served directly.

Over the next several months, Unprisoned will look at how mass incarceration affects New Orleans — how people are doing time outside. We start at New Orleans Municipal Court with a vivid portrait of this front door to the criminal justice system.