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  1. Revisiting our Perspectives Facilitator Workshop- January 2009

    Perspectives Workshop April 2009

    Wtih life coach Guthrie Sayen, we looked at habitual, familiar perspectives we carry and experienced a powerful tool to change our perspective and creatively explore new possibilities.

    As one participant said, “What a beautiful gift we received yesterday at Guthrie’s workshop! Spirit was with us and the feeling of connection and purpose was palpable. Everyone helped form a powerful container that revealed to me, once more, how much each of us– if we are aware, dedicated and mindful– can contribute to changing the world. I was reminded of Shirley Chisolm’s observation, “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.”

    From another man, “Seeing us together, I feel invigorated in my purpose and am reminded of what a determined group can do to make a difference.”

  2. New Stories

    During an intensive weekend at Bay State Correctional Center, inmates had the opportunity to write “new stories” about themselves. These new stories were the result of their discovery of a place inside from which to move forward in their lives. At the core of these insights, was their discovery of greater compassion, self-understanding and the value of “giving back” to their communities. Four of these stories are included above:

  3. Reaching Men in the Shadows: Men’s Circles in a Prison Setting

    by Steven Spitzer, PhD
    Suffolk University

    Published in the SPSMM Bulleting of the American Psychological Association, Fall 2002 Edition
    Editor: Holly Sweet

    Over the last year, I have organized and facilitated two weekly men’s groups at a Federal Prison in Massachusetts. With the support of a team of six men skilled in the techniques developed through the Mankind Project (see Barton, 2000), we have offered these inmate groups (8–10 men) a variety of skills and experiences. The groups were established to create opportunities for self-reflection, trust building, and the development of emotional literacy for incarcerated men.
    The difficulties men face in identifying and expressing their feelings are well documented (Real, 1997; Pittman, 1993; Pollock, 2000). Prison environments, with their emphasis on toxic masculinity, power, hierarchy, and the inmate code (Sabo et al., 2001), put men at even greater risk of disconnection. The institutional setting rewards stoicism, toughness, and detachment from feeling. Incarcerated men must “wear the mask” if they are to survive with respect to either the inmate subculture or the prison staff. Our prison groups endeavor to take off “the mask” so men can begin to address their deepest wounds.

    (more…)

  4. Prison II

    Dead latch hums, disengages,

    Steel door growls against its track.
    Pass.
    Drives shut, pawl clicks in.

    Badges, heavy belt, radio,
    Pendulous keys, chain, clipboard,
    Crew cut, scrubbed skin,
    Watchful eyes, straight back, taut arms.

    Footfalls echo, spotless vinyl,
    Bright lit glare,
    Blank walls, hard edges,
    Bars, gate, thick glass.

    Scrub grass,
    High fence, straight lines,
    Concrete, steel,
    Gray light, cold wind.

    High cameras,
    Huddled men, hushed voices,
    Uniforms, empty hands,
    Silence.

    Standing, waiting, bare halls,
    Locked in, locked out.
    “ Attention on the compound…”
    Rules, numbers, repetition.

    Black fear, stoop shouldered
    Red anger, black veiled
    White reality, open faced
    Orange-bright courage, golden hope.

    Gift for my soul, this
    Wheeled gate rolls open
    Invites me to its
    Container.

    Vern Ludwig

  5. Herring Run

    They come in a tin can, neatly packed.
    To open the can, pry the key from the underside,
    fit the metal tab into the slot and roll it up.
    How quietly they sleep inside that can, waiting for spring to stir them back to life.

    The blue door grinds along its track.
    Shoes off, pockets out, hand stamped, book signed;
    arms to my sides, I rotate in all directions,
    passing silently through the archway to the other side.

    Inmates wave through windows when they see me,
    I look for the key in their eyes.
    The tide is strong today but they
    scurry down the hall and through the locks to greet me.

    The scent of spring fills our lungs.
    We thrash and leap through breakers to the sea.
    A secret current carries us beyond the walls.
    Boys frolic in the surf, searching for broken treasures on the shore.

    But now it is time: They line up neatly, side-by-side.
    To close the can you need to find the key,
    fit the metal into the slot and roll it down.
    How quietly they sleep inside that can, waiting for spring to stir them back to life.

    Steve Spitzer

  6. Prison Poetry Program

    Poetry is a language that speaks directly to the heart. Part of the work of JCP is to bring greater levels of feeling and authentic experience into prisons. Poems are often read in our prison circles as an invitation to go deeper and touch feelings. Spoken poetry is one of the most effective ways for men to access what is at their core.

    Do you have a favorite poem that you would like to be read to men inside?

    Send us your favorites and we will read them to men who are seeking wisdom and inspiration on their journey. Poetry may be sent to us for sharing at the address below.

    E-mail: poetry@jerichocircle.org

  7. Project Return

    Dr. Robert Roberts founded Project Return under the principle that violence, if preventable, should be a public health issue. Through the intervention of community-building and direct service provision for the needs of former offenders in breaking their repetitive cycles of drugs, criminal behavior, and violence, Project Return’s goal was to reduce crime without doing further harm. Concentrating its efforts on those at highest risk for returning to prison, the program seeks to break the cycles of criminal and violent behavior through a process that assists convicted felons in making a successful transition from prison to the community and into employment.

  8. Prison Creative Arts Project

    Founded in 1990, the Prison Creative Arts Project is committed to original work in the arts in Michigan correctional facilities and juvenile facilities. Our purpose is to enhance creative opportunities for inmates and to bring the benefits and skills that come with each art. We have worked with prison actors, writers, and performers to create two dance performances, over one hundred and thirty-two original plays, and over fourteen creative writing presentations at seventeen adult facilities, as well as over eighty-five plays and three dance performances at four Michigan juvenile facilities. We have also curated six Exhibitions of Art by Michigan Prisoners and three exhibitions of art by incarcerated youth from four juvenile facililties.

  9. The Mankind Project International

    The Mankind Project International designs and administers men’s initiation weekends around the world. These weekends are a finely coordinated series of activities: group discussions, games, guided imagery visualizations, journaling, and individual work to help each man to touch his truth. The experiences and skills developed on these weekends and in follow-up groups support men in living lives of integrity, accountability, and connection to feeling. MKP assists men in being of service to the community at large, both as individual men with a renewed sense of passion and personal responsibility, and as communities of men working together to build sustainable relationships. Prisons are one setting in which men can benefit from the type of work offered by MKP.

  10. InsideOUT Writers

    The mission of InsideOUT Writers is to teach creative writing to incarcerated and at-risk youth so as to discourage youth violence, building in its place a spirit of honest introspection, respect of others, and a love of learning. We publish the best of that writing and distribute it to schools, libraries, juvenile detention facilities, the government, and to the general public.

    We believe that inside each young person, no matter who they are or where they grow up, is an important message to be shared. At the writing table, kids who might ordinarily be enemies on the street and think that they have nothing in common, are able to take off their tough facades and discover the truth about themselves and others–from the inside out. Our classes are held in Central Juvenile Hall. also known as EastLake, in East Los Angeles; Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar; Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, William Tell Aggeler High School in Chatsworth, Dorothy F. Kirby Center in Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles Skills Center in East Los Angeles. We reach approximately 120 students with our classes each week. Our students join our classes on a volunteer basis and receive school credit for their involvement.

  11. The Freedom Project (Non-Violent Communication)

    The Freedom Project (Non-Violent Communication) began with two individuals, one inside prison and one outside, both inspired by the power of Nonviolent Communication to transform prisoners into peacemakers. They held the conviction that returnees (those returning to the community from prison) have the capacity to offer genuine safety and strength to our ruptured communities. The Freedom Project was founded in 2001 to provide trainings and support for those who have been incarcerated to recognize and grow beyond past mistakes and to find their way home as full contributing members of our community. We have ongoing programs in two prisons in Washington State at the Monroe Correctional Complex. We introduce inmates to the basics of Nonviolent Communication through 2-day workshops and offer more extensive 3-day theme-based trainings in areas such as. anger, reconciliation, etc. Our curriculum also emphasizes the practice of mindfulness.

  12. Prison Fellowship

    Prison Fellowship (PF) is a Christian ministry responding to the needs of prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims and those affected by crime. Prison Fellowship International (PFI) is the global association of national Prison Fellowship organizations. The purpose of each national PF organization is to work through the Christian community to mobilize outreach and ministry in response to the needs of prisoners, ex prisoners, victims, and their families as well as to advance the application of restorative justice principles within the criminal justice system.

  13. The Fortune Society

    Staffed primarily by ex-offenders, The Fortune Society is a not-for-profit community-based organization dedicated to educating the public about prisons, criminal justice issues, and the root causes of crime. We also help ex-offenders and at-risk youth break the cycle of crime and incarceration through a broad range of services.

  14. 360 Degrees

    360 Degrees is an educationally oriented site that includes a broad spectrum of resources for educators, students, activists and others interested in criminal justice policy and practice. The site offers a comprehensive approach to the problems presented by prisons in our society including a listing of organizations, stories told by prisoners, opportunities for dialogue and a glossary.

  15. The Lionheart Foundation

    The Lionheart Foundation distributes the book Houses of Healing to prisoners and operates the National Literacy Project. The NELP for Prisoners, Lionheart’s first major and ongoing project, gives incarcerated men and women throughout the United States powerful rehabilitative resources to help them interrupt life-long patterns of violence and addiction and start building productive lives. Taking a proactive stance in the face of an expanding prison population and a trend toward eliminating rehabilitative programs, Lionheart is committed to playing an integral part in redefining our nation’s prisons as places for healing and rehabilitation.

  16. The Inside Circle Foundation

    The Inside Circle Foundation (ICF) is a not for profit organization (501c3) dedicated to the inner personal growth of men in prison. The goal of the ICF is to create environments in which prisoners can work and explore the issues in their lives that have prevented them from living up to their full potential as human beings. In these environments the ICF primarily utilizes self-help discussion groups and creative writing techniques such as journaling, autobiography, and poetry to achieve the inner development necessary to become healthy contributing members of our society.