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

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  • Advocates are working to increase incarcerated voter engagement in San Diego. Here's how:

    In San Diego County, Pillars of the Community trained people incarcerated in local jails to become “inside organizers” who can help others incarcerated there register to vote and fill out their ballots. In all, seven inside organizers helped roughly 230 people register to vote ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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  • Work expands to prevent opioid overdoses for people leaving prison

    Research has found that providing medications for opioid use disorder can help prevent overdoses after release from prison. The state’s Department of Adult Correction recently launched a pilot program to test this theory. 229 of the 287 participants received treatment, several of whom said the access to the medications helped save their lives.

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  • For Some Wyoming Inmates, Prison Is Their Best Shot At Education

    The University of Wyoming’s Pathways from Prison program uses federal Pell Grant money and private donations to fund college education for inmates. The program offers four-year degrees and aims to provide them with the skills, tools and knowledge to reenter society in a positive way. Studies show educational programs decrease recidivism rates by 14.8%, and those participating in the program say their self-worth and sense of hope have significantly increased.

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  • Incarcerated trans women won sweeping prison reforms in Colorado. It could be a model for other states.

    Case lawyers for a lawsuit filed in 2019 worked with Colorado officials to create a settlement with a legally binding agreement that requires the state to make its prisons safer for transgender women and provide medical care to all transgender people who are incarcerated.

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  • California to expand re-entry programs for formerly incarcerated individuals. Here's how they work

    California is shifting to expand programs that help give incarcerated people the skills and knowledge they need to effectively transition back into society. Various re-entry programs for men and women across the state that connect people with education and job resources helped dropped recidivism rates from 44.6% to 41.9%, based on the state’s most recent data, and also cost taxpayers less than the average cost of incarceration.

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  • Prison system works to combat health care coverage gap by enrolling people in Medicaid before release

    With the new statewide Medicaid expansion, the Department of Adult Correction is working to ensure fewer people reenter society after incarceration and enter a healthcare coverage gap by helping people apply for Medicaid before release. With the Medicaid expansion, 80% of the 15,000 people released from prison each year are now eligible for coverage, and prison staff submit about 100 Medicaid applications each week.

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  • The Beacon Prison Books Project Provides Free Books to Those Behind Bars

    The Beacon Prison Books Project provides free books to incarcerated people through a group of volunteers who take book requests, order the books and then display them in participating bookstores for patrons to purchase as sponsored gifts for those in prison. The program has expanded to several bookstores in the state and has sent over 3,000 books to incarcerated people since February 2020.

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  • Incarcerated people partner with state officials to encourage voter turnout in prisons

    In Maine, one of only two states where people in prison retain their right to vote, the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP engages incarcerated voters through flyers, posters, guest speakers, and group discussions about political issues. Over the past two decades, the organization has helped more than 1,000 people register to vote in Maine prisons.

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  • Activist at 14, Burned Out by 26. Today, Emani Davis Teaches That to Change the World, You Must Also Take Care of Yourself

    The Omowale Project works to support Black and brown activists who have been impacted by incarceration. Through the Projects sessions, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, or people whose parents were incarcerated when they were a child, are taught how to self-advocate, rest and care for themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually.

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  • Philly's New Violence Intervention Program Focuses On Stability And Support

    A community violence intervention program modeled after READI is beginning in Philadelphia to connect high-risk individuals who were victims of violence or formerly incarcerated with basic needs services like therapy, employment, and housing assistance to reduce violence and recidivism. Holistic approaches like READI have already proven effective as half of participants are still working full time a year after attending the program and the program’s experimental group saw a 79% reduction in arrests for shootings and homicide.

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