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How Jay-Z And Meek Mill Are Helping Prisons Fight COVID-19

The rappers are giving 100,000 masks across the nation.

Jay-Z and Meek Mill are stepping up to help during the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to CBS News, the rappers’ criminal justice reform organization is sending nearly 100,000 surgical masks to correctional facilities across the country, including Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and Rikers Island in New York City.

REFORM Alliance reportedly announced Friday (April 3) that it is teaming up with advocate Shaka Senghor to help various prison states suffering from a shortage of supplies in their fight against COVID-19, Good Morning America reports.

"It's a very vulnerable population," Jessica Jackson, the chief advocacy officer at REFORM told CBS. "We're really worried about the number of people coming in and out of the facility, and the fact that the people living there might be sitting ducks during this pandemic."

Meek Mill has been tweeting about the severity of the coronavirus and has used his personal experiences in the criminal justice system to ignite the movement. The donation of surgical masks are a part of REFORM Alliance’s SAFER Plan.

"We're still looking at jail and prison populations that are completely overcrowded to dangerous levels when you're looking at a pandemic like this head-on," said Jackson. "This is a movement, but we need all of the voices we can get."

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