Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • In Vermont, Isolating Inmates Kept Covid at Bay, but at a Price

    April 21, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Vermont

    Vermont is the only state where no people incarcerated in prison died of COVID-19 in the first 12 months of the pandemic, and its infection rate is relatively low. The prisons took steps that other prison systems either didn't try or didn't do soon enough, including universal testing at least six times over the year; strict isolation of newly admitted prisoners for 14 days; occasional lockdowns of up to a month; early releases from prison; and keeping corrections officers housed separately from the community. The isolation measures hurt people's mental health, including one suicide and one attempt.

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  • Would You Dine in This Prison?

    April 20, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Kingdom, London

    The Clink operates in four British prisons, teaching haute-cuisine cooking skills and then helping its formerly incarcerated trainees establish productive lives once they're released. The training inside prison features restaurants that cater to the public, plus teaching the skills needed to find and keep a job on the outside. When graduates of the program showed the same inclination to commit more crimes as other formerly incarcerated people, the program provided more reentry supports that have contributed to much lower rates of re-offending. The program plans to expand to 70 more prisons in the UK.

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  • From Prison To Plate: One Organization's Approach On Food Sustainability

    April 20, 2021 |

    Grady Newsource |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Monroe, Georgia

    In a community with a food insecurity rate of 11%, Walton Wellness provides dozens of families with a steady supply of fresh produce grown by volunteers incarcerated at the county jail. The program aims to go beyond simply addressing hunger by educating the community, including school children, about healthy eating.

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  • Meet the scientists building a prison-to-STEM pipeline

    April 19, 2021 |

    PBS NOVA |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

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  • Inside stories

    April 05, 2021 |

    Columbia Journalism Review |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    The Empowerment Avenue Writer's Cohort pairs incarcerated writers with volunteer journalists on the outside who mentor, edit, and help the writers pitch their stories to publications. By publishing more incarcerated writers' viewpoints and first-hand reporting, and by getting those writers paid for their work, the project better informs the public about experiences inside prisons, gives free-world journalists more inside sources, and helps set up incarcerated writers for a career once they are free.

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  • Prison Renaissance program at San Quentin uses art to end cycles of incarceration

    March 26, 2021 |

    KGO-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    Three men currently or formerly incarcerated at San Quentin Prison founded Prison Renaissance to connect artists and writers inside prison to audiences and potential funders outside. They produced an art exhibit that was shown digitally at the Museum of the African Diaspora. By creating a rehabilitative program on their own without prison administration involvement, the men demonstrate their humanity and talents, while also generating income for the artists.

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  • Hot Trash

    March 17, 2021 |

    Ear Hustle |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    Prison visiting rooms provide an irreplaceable connection between incarcerated people and their family and friends from outside prison. The in-person visits, despite the many rules that complicate the simple act of conversation, offer a grounding in what's happening in the lives they left behind, along with opportunities to have an intense dialogue about past mistakes and regrets. Interviews produced inside San Quentin Prison reveal the mixed blessing of video visits, the only form of contact for a year during the pandemic.

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  • New legal clinic concentrates on cases of women languishing in the system for crimes against alleged abusers

    March 16, 2021 |

    Chicago Tribune |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Illinois

    The Women and Survivors Project provides legal representation to women imprisoned for crimes that stemmed from histories of abuse. Nearly all incarcerated women have suffered violent abuse. Many end up punished for fighting back or when their abuser forces them to participate in his crimes, but their defenses often get overlooked in court. The project so far has helped free five women by getting judges or parole officials to reconsider their cases, including one woman convicted of first-degree murder. It has dozens more cases in the pipeline.

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  • How Norway's Prisons Have Weathered a Pandemic

    March 12, 2021 |

    Think Global Health |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Norway

    When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.

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  • How COVID Impacts Education — Prison Literature Club Adapts During COVID Lockdowns

    March 11, 2021 |

    Rafu Shimpo |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

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