San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

The Beat Within, November 2020

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Your writing should reflect a positive message that helps the youth make better decisions in life. Your stories will be read by the youth in detention centers. If published, you will receive a free copy of the publication. Your story can make a difference. Tell The Beat Within you read about them in KidCAT Speaks!

Words from the wise, quote of the week – “I’m tired of the bull…. And I don’t have to know your story to know that you’re tired of the bull… too. It’s so hard trying to love yourself in a world that doesn’t love you back, am I right?” Lizzo (b 1988) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and flutist. What is your take on this week’s quote? Do you agree or disagree? Share examples from your own life that helps support your answer. “I’m tired of the bull… And I don’t have to know your story to know that you’re tired of the bull… too. It’s so hard trying to love yourself in a world that doesn’t love you back, am I right?”

The Beat Within, P.O. Box 34310
San Francisco, CA 94134

What’s really needed are paths to good jobs

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To stop the revolving door between poverty and incarceration, the more than 70 million Americans who are justice-involved need access to employment that allows self-perpetuating sustainability.

When people come home from prison or jail, they face immense challenges, not the least of which is stigma, and the burden that a criminal record places on people’s ability to find safe, secure housing and gainful employment.

While millions of philanthropic dollars pour each year into reentry and job training programs — which are necessary for people in the short-term — we need to do more to address the long-term impacts of incarceration on the perpetual cycle of poverty.

This includes investing in skill-building that begins inside of prison.
Take my friend Kenny B for example. Kenny has been home and working for six years and still cannot afford healthcare or his own apartment because he works at a low-skilled job.

Despite his efforts to care for himself and his loved ones, Kenny remains reliant on government social services and charities — some of which are funded by philanthropic dollars.

As a newcomer to philanthropy and a former entrepreneur, it hasn’t taken long for me to conclude that attention to policy reform, however necessary, has been insufficient if we are truly to dismantle the systems that create and perpetuate the twin cycles of poverty and mass incarceration.

We have, for example, witnessed how campaigns like “Ban the Box” can serve to distract us from the structural underpinnings of inequality in the workplace for Black and Hispanic men.

Instead, we should be creating paths to employment and entrepreneurship which create self-sufficiency in fulfilling their needs indefinitely while building social and economic equity.

Expanding support for programs like The Last Mile, which teaches computer coding to incarcerated people, and the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, which offers leadership training and a six-month, in-prison “mini-MBA” program, have much greater impact and outcomes than many programs administered post-incarceration.

These programs provide support and mentorship after people are released and — because they are private — they function outside of government bureaucracy.

I know how difficult it is to reenter the workforce after prison. I also know the value of learning skills while in prison that can provide near seamless reentry into society.

I spent two years learning to code while serving a 12-year sentence at San Quentin State Prison.

The skills I learned not only paved a path to near-instantaneous employment when I was released but also provided enough compensation to provide the resources I needed to thrive post-incarceration.

There are another 2.2 million people languishing in prisons and jails, most of whom will return to their communities. They will need jobs, housing, and healthcare, and most will have to navigate the daunting aspects of reentry without the professional skills required to pursue employment compensation that will raise them and their families out of poverty.

To move formerly incarcerated people out of poverty, we must reduce reliance on job readiness and training programs post-incarceration that are solely administered and funded by the government — and, we must work to improve these programs and their outcomes, and push to remove the red tape that makes the reentry process difficult to navigate. Instead, we should fund and support job training and entrepreneurship programs for people that begin while they are incarcerated.

We also need to change the narrative that incarcerated people are incapable of learning and performing in high-skilled jobs. High-skilled employment not only provides income and stability, it also enables an individual to gain equity in homeownership, to access health care, and to pay college tuition.

Having equity lifts people out of poverty and brings self-perpetuating, intergenerational sustainability.

Death Row lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson tells us that “The opposite of poverty is justice.” Until system-impacted people attain true economic freedom, they will remain “have nots” and suffer all of the systemic injustices that come along with being poor — including incarceration.

Aly Tamboura is a manager in the Criminal Justice Reform program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He joined the organization in 2017, after working as a software engineer. Having spent over a decade of his life incarcerated, Tamboura brings both his firsthand experience with the criminal justice system and his strong technical skills to CZI to help advance critical reforms

Resources: Correspondence reading guide by mail Point Global Outreach

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Correspondence reading guide by mail
Point Global Outreach provides a free 29-page
Resource Directory for Prisoners. This directory provides
correspondence courses for many religions and spiritual
traditions, legal support, pen pals and more. Most organizations
in the directory offer their services, books and literature free
of charge to prisoners. To request a copy, write to:
Naljor Prison Dharma PO Box 628 Mount Shasta, CA
96067

GUIDELINES:
• Let these organizations know the book restrictions in the
prison where you are incarcerated: maximum amount of books
they allow to be received at one time? Does the prison accept
used books or new only? Paperbacks only?
• List only the subjects or types of books of interest. Books
are often donated and change every week. Distributors do their
best to send something close to what you ask for. Requests by
title or author are often challenging to fulfill.
• Please write clearly — especially your name, ID number,
and address. Include all this info on both the envelope and in
your letter.

  1. Beehive Books Behind Bars (Serves WA, OR, CA, ID,
    NV, AZ, UT, MT, WY, CO, NM prisons only)
    Weller Book Works
    607 Trolley Square
    Salt Lake City, UT 84102
    • BBB matches book requests from prisoners to books that
    have been donated to them.
  2. The Prison Library Project c/o The Claremont Forum
    915-C W. Foothill Blvd, PMB 128
    Claremont, CA 91711
    • The Prison Library Project mails over 15,000 packages of
    books each year to inmates as well as boxes of books to prison
    librarians, educators and chaplains.
  3. Prisoners Literature Project (PLP) (Serves all of the
    US except Texas prisons) c/o Bound Together Bookstore
    1369 Haight Street
    San Francisco, CA 94117
    • Limit requests to once a year; Takes 2-4 months to respond
    to requests. PLP does not have the following kinds of books:
    law books and legal guides; romances; horror; Bibles and
    Christian literature
  4. Bellingham Books To Prisoners (BBTP)
    PO Box 1254
    Bellingham, WA 98227
    • BBTP are partnered with Seattle Books To Prisoners. Last
    year over 7,000 books were sent to prisoners.
  5. DC Books to Prisons
    PO Box 34190
    Washington, DC 20043-4190
    • Provides free books to prisoners in 35 states and supports
    prison libraries. You may mail requests to us every five
    months. You may request titles or authors, but since all our
    books are donated, prioritized genres or areas of interest are
    more likely to be filled. We don’t send legal books. Please list
    prison restrictions if known. If required by your prison, please
    include a pre-approval form. Please do not send requests
    from more than one inmate per envelope. We do not send to
    county or city jails, or to prisons in Connecticut, Florida,
    Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire,
    New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
    Vermont, Washington State or Wisconsin. However, we will
    send to inmates from Washington DC in any federal prison. It
    can take us up to three months to respond to requests.
  6. LGBT Books to Prisoners (Serves LGBTQ prisoners
    in all states except TX)
    426 W. Gilman Street
    Madison, WI 53703
    • Sends books and other educational materials to LGBTQidentified
    prisoners across the U.S. Each package contains
    3-5 books, educational materials, and LGBTQ resources.
    25,000 books have been sent to people in prison for each of
    the last two years.
  7. NYC Books through Bars (Serves all US states except:
    AL, FL, LA, MA, MI, c/o Bluestockings Bookstore MS,
    NC, OH, PA with a priority to NY prisons)
    172 Allen Street
    New York, NY 10002
    • They match requests from prisoners to the books they have
    available.
  8. Providence Books through Bars
    42 Lenox Avenue
    Providence, RI 02907-1910
    • Since the number one requested book is a dictionary, PBB
    tries to send out as many as they can as well as thesauruses
    and reference books; provide requests for as many types of
    books as possible.
  9. Women’s Prison Book Project (Serves all US states
    except: CT, FL, IL, IN, MA, MI, MS, OH, OR, PA) c/o
    Boneshaker Books
    2002 23rd Ave S
    Minneapolis MN 55404
    • Provides women and transgender persons in prison with
    free reading materials covering a wide range of topics from
    law and education (dictionaries, GED, etc.) to fiction, politics,
    history, and women’s health.
    RELIGIOUS RESOURCES
  10. Bible Truth Publishers
    59 Industrial Road
    Addison, IL 60101
    • Supplies free Bibles in English and Spanish to prisoners
  11. Chapel Library
    2603 West Wright Street
    Pensacola, Florida 32505
    • Offers free Christian literature including study courses
    and Bibles. Available in tracts, booklets, paperbacks and
    audio tapes
  12. Prison Fellowship
    44180 Riverside Parkway,
    Lansdowne, VA 20176
    • Publishes Inside Journal® a quarterly publication of
    Prison Fellowship that is distributed inside corrections
    facilities. Written specifically for incarcerated men and
    women, in both English and Spanish.
    • PEN PAL PROGRAMS
  13. Lifelines to Solitary
    c/o Solitary Watch
    PO Box 11374
    Washington, DC 20008
    • Solitary Watch provides support to people in prisons living
    in isolation, through its Lifelines to Solitary project. Through
    personalized letters and quarterly newsletters, they keep in
    touch with more than 3,000 people in solitary confinement
    across the country. Write to Solitary Watch to request a pen
    pal and newsletter.
  14. Unitarian Universalist Association
    CLF Letter Writing Prison Ministry
    25 Beacon Street
    Boston, MA 02108
    • Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF), a part of the
    Unitarian Universalists, provides ministry and correspondence
    to those who are isolated. The CLF Letter Writing Ministry
    matches prisoner members with non-incarcerated Unitarian
    Universalist’s for an exchange of friendly letters on topics
    of mutual interest. All letter writers (prisoners and “ freeworld”)
    agree to the same guidelines, which emphasize
    that our program is not intended for romantic, legal-aid or
    financial/gift interactions. Contact the address above to
    request a pen pal.
  15. FFUP (Forum for Understanding Prisons)
    29631 Wild Rose Drive
    Blue River, WI 53518
    • Write directly to FFUP Pen Pals to request a pen pal
    volunteer. Provide some information on your background and
    the areas of interest for which you would like to correspond.
  16. National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms
    P.O. Box 66301
    Washington, DC 20035
    • Write directly to NCPCF to request a pen pal volunteer.
    MEDITATION RESOURCES
  17. The Human Kindness Foundation / The Prison
    Ashram Project
    PO Box 61619
    Durham, NC 27715
    • Provides free books mostly written by one of its founders,
    Bo Lozoff, offering spiritual guidance and support. The most
    well-known of these books are: We’re All Doing Time and
    Deep and Simple. Offers a free newsletter sent three times a
    year called “A Little Good News” providing spiritual support
    for the incarcerated.
  18. Prison Mindfulness Institute
    11 S. Angell St. #303
    Providence, RI 02906
    • Organizes a pen pal program between prisoners and
    meditation volunteer.
  19. Prison Mindfulness Institute and Prison Dharma
    Network
    11 S. Angell St. #303
    Providence, RI 02906
    • PMI provides books and resources on Mindfulness and
    Meditation through their “Books Behind Bars” program.
    PDN offers a support network in the practice of contemplative
    disciplines, with an emphasis on sitting meditation practice.
    Offers the principles and practices of Buddhist teachings.
  20. Siddha Yoga Meditation Prison Project
    P.O.Box 99140
    Emeryville, CA 94622
    Provides the Siddha Yoga Home Study Course to inmates
    upon request. Lessons are received monthly and are available
    in Spanish translation. A free newsletter, study course and
    resource guide are also provided.
  21. Mindfulness Peace Project | Solitary Confinement
    6800 N. 79th St, Ste. 200
    Niwot, CO 80503
    You might pass this on to a chaplain or psychologist:
    • A mindfulness program broadcasted into isolation units (in
    the CO DOC). Provides channels for education and spiritual
    instruction as well.
    SOLITARY TOP LEVEL
  22. Liberation Prison Project
    PO Box 33036
    Raleigh, NC 27636
    • Offers spiritual advice and teachings through letters,
    books and various materials to people in prison interested in
    exploring, studying and practicing Buddhism.
  23. Ratna Prison Initiative
    1507 Pine St.
    Boulder, Co 80302
    • Provides mindfulness meditation instruction through
    correspondence relationships. Provides free books on
    Buddhism to inmates.
  24. Prison Contemplative Fellowship
    Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.
    10 Park Place, 2nd Floor, Suite B
    Butler, New Jersey 07405
    • Teaches Centering Prayer, a receptive method of silent
    prayer. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer.
    Programs offer varying degrees of instruction, guided practice
    and study. Christian orientation, however can used by anyone.
  25. NA Behind the Walls
    PO Box 1605
    San Diego, CA 92176
  26. Sponsorship Behind the Walls
    1935 South Myrtle Ave
    Monrovia, CA 91016
  27. Criminon
    PO Box 9091
    Glendale, CA 91226
  28. Paths include Road to Happiness, Lifeskills,
    Overcoming Addiction
    Prison Letters 4 Our Struggling Youth
    603 B East University Drive, #219
    Carson, CA 90746
  29. Fair Chance Project (Mentorship Program)
    9103 SO Western Avenue
    Los Angeles, CA 90047
  30. Getting Out by Going In (GOGI)
    PO Box 88969
    Los Angeles, California, USA 90009
    Correspondence self-help guide by mail

New reentry group – API RISE – in Los Angeles

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Photo courtesy of Duc Ta
Duc Ta and Paul Jung

A nonprofit organization in Los Angeles is pioneering ways to help formerly incarcerated Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs) resettle and reconnect back to their communities.

https://www.api-rise.org/

“There’s a taboo for APIs who were and are incarcerated,” said Duc Ta, formerly incarcerated youth offender, professional chef and co-founder of API RISE.

“My own parents didn’t understand the work that I was doing with API RISE, but I felt compelled by my passion to provide a platform for people coming home. So I can relate on a very personal level to the cultural shame around individuals who were incarcerated.”

The passion to provide social support for system-impacted APIs is what draws community supporters, advocates and the formerly incarcerated to the organization.

“My brother was incarcerated in the late ’90s, and his incarceration inspired me to pursue a law degree,” said Paul Jung, a lawyer and co-founder of API RISE.

“I know the power of providing a social safety net that offers returning citizens a place to feel like home … a place to reconnect, to build camaraderie and to celebrate life. My brother is a living testament to the power and success of API RISE.

“My brother paroled in 2018 after serving 21 years. He is now working as a licensed electrician and volunteering his time to give back to API RISE, so others who are following behind him can be given the same opportunities for success that he has enjoyed.”

API RISE was founded in 2015 by community members Paul Jung, Traci Isihigo and two formerly incarcerated APIs, Duc Ta and David Kupihea.
Before Covid-19, the organization held monthly meetings in a church located south of downtown Los Angeles.

“A big part of our group is to socialize, host healing circles discussing forgiveness, and things members are struggling with,” said Ta. “We also host cooking classes, guest speakers and other fun events for our members.”
Since Covid-19, API RISE continues its work by hosting bi-weekly meetings on Zoom to check in with members and come up with ideas to provide mutual aid.

“We want the API brothers and sisters who are sitting behind bars serving 5, 10, 15 years or even longer to know we are here for them. If you need support letters, jobs and other resources before paroling, write to us,” said Ta.

Are you paroling to Southern California and in need of resources, assistance, support letters and job referrals? Contact our organization, API RISE, we are a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles founded by formerly incarcerated individuals with the support of community members.

Write to us:
API RISE
P.O. Box 53664, Los Angeles, CA 90053

Connect with us:
apirise@gmail.com / facebook: API RISE Los Angeles / Instagram: api_rise

Our goal is to build an actively engaged and involved Asian Pacific Islanders (API) community of API inmates, formerly incarcerated individuals, at-risk youth, families, allies, and supporters. To educate our community around issues of how the criminal, legal and prison systems impact APIs and to organize around the needs of currently and formerly incarcerated community members.

https://www.api-rise.org/

Pelican Bay’s new podcast ‘UNLOCKED’

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Pelican Bay’s UNLOCKED staff meets

Creators of a new Pelican Bay podcast look to build community and prisoner relationships—one story at a time, reported the Lost Coast Outpost. https://lostcoastoutpost.com/

“These guys just want to better themselves and create a stronger, more resilient, community,” said Paul Critz, a journalist who teaches inmate students the tools they need to record their personal stories.

Inspired by San Quentin’s Ear Hustle, https://www.earhustlesq.com/ Pelican Bay Prison’s https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/pbsp/ UNLOCKED became the first of its kind at a security level IV institution.

Created by Critz and about 30 incarcerated men, the podcast aims to bring together the men on the inside and to communicate with the residents of Del Norte and Crescent City.

“They’re Del Norters too, and they’re very interested in hearing from the community. They want interaction. They want to humanize themselves, “ said Critz.

Dubbed as the single most important project in his career, Critz uses a portable recorder, laptop and a hand-held microphone to show his students how to put together a narrative.

While given much room for choosing content, Pelican Bay’s Public Information officer John Silviera advised Critz not to “bash the institution.”

“There’s a lot of gray area all around that phrase,” Critz told the Outpost. “We have to figure out what that means because at what point does bashing your reality become bashing the institution that’s responsible for your reality?”

Critz credits what he calls “The Awakening” as the pivotal moment in Pelican Bay’s history that led to launching the podcast.

“The Awakening” refers to the 2015 Supreme Court decision that shut down Pelican Bay’s Security Housing Units in 2013, following a widespread series of hunger strikes that began at the prison.

Critz’ students chose “The Awakening” as the subject of their first podcast. “They wanted to talk about… the changes that have been happening at Pelican Bay and other prisons as a result.

“The real awakening is hope,” said Critz. “They’re able to think about a future, maybe getting out – certainly even with people who’ll never get out.”

Critz, experienced in freelance journalism and radio, is best known as the operator of Crescent City’s community radio station. He was tapped to head Pelican Bay’s UNLOCKED by Stephanie Wenning, former executive director of the Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness.http://dnaca.net/

Of all the reviews Critz received, “The one that stands out the most,” he told the Outpost, was from the daughter of one of his students.

“I love listening to this podcast. It makes me happy to know my dad is doing something positive with his life. I can’t wait to hear more,” she said.

Storytellers polish their craft through the San Quentin News Journalism Guild

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Monica Campbell with the Spanish graduating class of 2020

The second annual San Quentin News Journalism Guild Graduation took place in the Garden Chapel on Jan. 17. Twelve graduates from November’s class combined with this current class of 11 to celebrate finishing the six-month course.

The event honored the graduates, recognized advisors and brought attention to the impact of programs like the guild on rehabilitation.

Richard “Bonaru” Richardson, SQ News’ Executive Editor and winner of the Arnulfo T. Garcia Leadership Award, spoke about the importance of the guild.

Having worked every position from print to layout to Editor-in-Chief, Richardson reflected how words began to change his life.

“At my last prison, a guy called me pessimistic, and I wanted to beat him up—even though I really didn’t know what the word meant,” said Richardson.

Inmates across the country can thank Richardson’s curiosity and intellect when he looked the word up and realized his own talent with words.

“Words mean a lot; we communicate with each other; we all have the ability to grow. Our newspaper allows people to grow—and will continue to do so,” said Richardson.

“Our graduates—know you were journalists before you picked up a pen. Remember, if no one tells your story, who will?” Richardson said. “Please use your voice; it’s the most powerful asset (weapon) you have.”

Lisa Adams, the newspaper’s development manager for two years, called her career journey from state and federal prison “empty, until I found my niche helping others.”

Adams is collaborating with Wells Fargo Bank executive Amanda Weitman to generate philanthropic donations for the news agency. “Inside and out, we give the world access to the understanding and awareness of social reform and its impact. This news agency reduces recidivism by giving hope to the incarcerated throughout the nation,” said the philanthropic executive.

Today, San Quentin News is a leading voice for incarcerated people in the country.

San Quentin News’ editor-in-chief, Marcus “Wali” Henderson, remarked upon the journalism program’s capacity to build bridges. “(SQ News and Wall City) journalists tell stories that people are afraid to tell.”

Henderson, who used to chair the Guild, then introduced keynote speaker Tracy Brumfield.

Brumfield has transformed from “a heroin addict in and out of jail and then prison” to founder of a women’s news agency called RISE.

She inspired the crowd, speaking about her addiction, “I’m beating its ass.” For the graduates she said, “The power of words—storytelling—includes talking about our journey. I found it extremely empowering to tell my journey…Write about what you know…your testimony!”

The Department of Juvenile Justice’s Ericka Mutchler celebrated the success of the incarcerated female population in California. Mutchler gave praise to Wall City’s third edition, which featured incarcerated females.

“The women featured on the back page of Wall City were my [juvenile] clients who co-wrote articles for the edition. I am pleased to announce all of them have been released with jobs,” said the counselor.

Henderson introduced former San Francisco prosecutor Marisa Rodriquez after he spoke about the social reform symposiums at San Quentin. The latest forum with the San Francisco Police Department was a “Blue on Blue forum [which] improved communication between law enforcement and incarcerated persons. It [forums] will allow us continue to build bridges that no one else can,” said Henderson.

In 2012, Rodriquez took a suggestion from her father to visit San Quentin.

“Now, I can’t shake this place,” said the former D.A. “It [the visit] was very, very moving, and I didn’t expect that. I shared the experience with my supervisor, San Francisco D.A. George Gascon.” She told Gascon there was something very special happening at San Quentin, and he needed to go in and see what was happening himself, if we are going to change justice.

Gascon’s office then collaborated with the late Arnulfo Garcia to create the first symposium. It focused on San Francisco Community Court prosecutors’ desire to investigate what drives youth to commit crimes.

The symposium was such a success, today the forums are a core of the news outlet’s brand.

Rodriquez said after Police Chief (Del Scott) brought in his team, it led to the creation of the nation’s first Formerly Incarcerated Advisory Board. The board includes San Francisco prosecutors and formerly incarcerated men and women, many of whom had life sentences before being paroled.

CDCR administrators who ensure accuracy and analysis for SQ News include), Terri Hardy, Krissi Khokhobashvili, and Ike Dodson. They received plaques of recognition and said, “No matter what happened in your past, who you are when you come out on the other side is what matters.” Henderson also praised the group of Wall City advisors in attendance. Kate McQueen, Sarah Horowitz, Doug Levy and Dan Fost represented the magazine’s advisory board of 12.

CDCR leader and others seek prison reform answers in Norway

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Secretary Diaz calls for a sense of urgency for prison reforms

CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz (back row, 5th from right) and formerly incarcerated Adnan Khan (in center)

As they covered 5,000 miles and an ocean on an international flight on Sept. 14, CDCR Secretary, Ralph Diaz and Connie Gipson had plenty of time to consider their doubts.

“It won’t work here.”

“California is too big, too violent and plagued by prison gangs.”

Those thoughts soon gave way to excited optimism, as the pair, CDCR’s Secretary and Division of Adult Institutions (DAI) Director, bonded with senior staff from the governor’s office, formerly incarcerated people, peace officer union representatives and criminal justice advocates in a life-changing environment across the globe.

Over six days, Diaz and Gipson toured Norwegian prisons, training facilities and reentry programs, witnessing famed humanistic practices that deliver wellness, safety and empowerment to everyone involved.

The trip, funded by philanthropic programs and organized by an ambitious visionary at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), made significant impact on CDCR leadership. “The world shrunk,” Diaz explained. “I saw staff and inmates engaging in a very positive way, as if the environment belonged to all of them, not just inmates or staff.

“At that moment I saw aspects of this that can be done.”

The team

Diaz and Gipson were joined by California Men’s Colony. Warden Josie Gastelo and Salinas Valley State Prison Warden Matthew Atchley and Captain Edward Brown. Governor Newsom [sent] representatives Daniel Seeman, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, and Kelli Evans, Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for Criminal Justice in the Office of the Governor.

Other attendees included formerly incarcerated advocates Adnan Khan (Co-Founder of Re:Store Justice) and Sam Lewis (Executive Director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition), or representatives from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.

“I think it was the right people in the room, and what was so fascinating was that we all came to our discoveries throughout the week,” Gipson said. “It was really beneficial to have so many different perspectives going through the same experience.”

“We chose Norway because they have a very public health approach to corrections. They say that people go to court to get punished and go to prison to become better neighbors,” said Williams. “Every single policy/procedure and contact with a program is seen as an opportunity to bring health and well-being to people who are incarcerated, and simultaneously this gives staff and correctional officers the opportunity to change people’s lives for the better.”

To make the trip happen, Amend partnered with the community-based nonprofit organization Smart Justice to raise philanthropic funds. The biggest contributors included The Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.

Advocates for all

In Norway, the only human right an incarcerated person loses is liberty. The system, including architecture and habitat, is designed to mimic the community those citizens will return to. Interactions with staff are specifically structured to champion wellness and safety.

“I believe we have segments of what is happening in Norway going on in our institutions,” Diaz said. “We have to line it up, put it on paper and give employees the permission to care about the inmate population and remind them that rehabilitation has been a part of their job since the day they signed up.”

There are clear benefits to the normalcy of the environment for staff as well as inmates. Williams said initial reports from Norway show health and life expectancy metrics for correctional staff mirror the outcomes of other citizens. She pointed to research in California that has highlighted a public health crisis among correctional employees, who are more prone to depression, suicide and poor life expectancy.

Khan, whose work at Re:Store Justice brings victims and offenders together for dialogue and forgiveness, said, “My advocacy has always been about crime survivors, bringing them in to prison, and currently/formerly incarcerated people, but when Brie talked about suicides and life expectancy of staff — that bothered me. I had to reevaluate my advocacy. Am I choosing to be the leader of a specific demographic of justice reform or an advocate for public health and humanity? Human rights and public health advocacy has to include correctional officers that are suffering and in pain.”

How Norway changed

Norway’s prison model, thriving at a reported recidivism rate of 20%, wasn’t built overnight. Advocates point to demands by the Norwegian Parliament that authorized a shift to rehabilitation and humanistic practices in the late 1990s.

Over time, accompanied by changes in sentencing laws, massive changes to all aspects of the correctional system began to take hold.

Those changes go far beyond the supportive housing units with private restrooms, couches, stocked kitchen units or even small forests in recreational yards that keep offenders connected to the world around them.

Officers interact warmly and respectfully on a first-name basis with incarcerated people and are trained much longer—two years versus CDCR’s 13-week Basic Correctional Officer Academy. They are schooled on psychology, criminology, human rights and ethics. The process includes a lot of perspective shifts, like placing an officer in the role of an offender and experiencing different custodial tactics.

“I always look at experiences, trainings with an open mind, but I admit, I was pretty apprehensive about this,” Gipson said. “Early on I felt like this was too good to be true, but the more I started to listen to their concepts and principles of normality, humanity, the more I bought in. Everything clicked, and I was just blown away. I came back excited because I feel there are a lot of possibilities for us.”

CDCR and CCPOA leaders at Norwegian prison

The California way

A theme understood by trip-goers and emphasized by Norwegian officials is the practicality of change.

Norway didn’t evolve into a better form of correctional care immediately, and uprooting the same system and dropping it into a vastly different population is not the solution for California.

“We are not trying to make it the Norway way or the European way but the California way,” Diaz said. “We are a unique, diverse populace with cultures within cultures, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make necessary changes.”

“We just have to make it the California way. That doesn’t mean saying no to security but yes to a different way of doing business that improves the workplace and makes a better life for people returning to our communities,” he added.

Diaz said he looks forward to collaborating with other states that strive for similar innovation and emphasized the importance of supporting an environment that both acknowledges the suffering of crime victims and delivers on a promise to create fewer victims in the future.

He joined Gipson in a presentation to CDCR wardens across the state on Nov. 6, highlighting the most impactful concepts and practices that simultaneously promote wellness, safety and rehabilitation.

“We have to look at our historic policies and ask ourselves about each one: Why? Is it humane?” Diaz said. “As policy makers it is our job to change policies and explain why, because in the end we have to create a more humane prison system.”

The insight inspires action.

“My first step is getting a workgroup together to look at what policies and procedures we have in play that escalate vs. de-escalate,” Gipson said. “I also want to look at our training and talk about giving staff the comfort to manage situations within their authority without fear of making a mistake.”

“My big takeaway is a sense of urgency to make these necessary reforms because we have witnessed positive impact for all those involved in a correctional setting and for those returned to communities,” Diaz said. “I know what can be done. I know the department’s abilities and the ability of staff to get things done.”

That’s the California way.

Newsom proposes reducing probation and boosting rehabilitation programs

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Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom talking with Juan Haines
Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom talking with Juan Haines

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing major changes in California’s criminal justice system by reducing probation to two years and boosting rehabilitation programs for offenders.

Newsom said the change is aimed at cutting costs and reducing recidivism.

He said he proposes spending “an unprecedented amount of money” — $210 million over four years – in rehabilitation programs early in the probation period, where they are believed most effective, The Associated Press reported Jan. 11.

The plan sets probation at a maximum of two years, down from five for felonies and three for misdemeanors.Probation officers support the change but police chiefs are opposed.

Longer probation terms allow officers to search offenders, their homes and vehicles to find drugs, weapons, stolen items or other evidence, said Ron Lawrence, president of the California Police Chiefs Association. According to him, this tends to reduce crimes.

Lawrence said his group opposes changes that would lessen accountability. “Lessening the tail on probation would frankly lessen that accountability.”

Support is voiced by the Chief Probation Officers of California. The group agrees that focusing on rehabilitative services is the best way to help change their behavior and reduce re-offense.”

“The data and the evidence and the science bears out,” Newsom said. “You front load services – those first 18 months are determinative. He said the change was prompted by a major increase in car burglaries following passage of a proposition that reclassified some felonies as misdemeanors.

“This goes directly to the car break-ins, this goes to the petty crime issue, this should be celebrated by the law enforcement community because of the intensity of services we want to provide,” Newsom said.

Longer duration of supervision not only costs money,” he said, “For small petty things you throw people back in the system and that cycle of violence perpetuates itself.”

The reform group Californians for Safety and Justice points out that ten times as many offenders are sentenced to probation than to prison but probation receives only a fraction of the funding.

Occupational licenses out of reach for most felons

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Inmates in a Career Technical Education Program

People who have served time in prison are likely to find many occupational licenses unavailable to them – licenses that are necessary to earn a living.

More than 10,000 regulations can prevent people with criminal records from obtaining licenses, according to an article on Independent.co.uk,

These restrictions make it difficult to enter or get ahead in fast-growing industries such as health care, human services and some mechanical trades. The restrictions often include the very jobs they’ve trained for in prison or in re-entry programs.

“In many states, a criminal record is a stain that you can’t wash off,” said Steven Slivinski, an economist at the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty at Arizona State University. “There is no amount of studying that can take away this mark on your past if a licensing board wants to use it against you.”

The Sept. 14, 2019 story cites the case of Meko Lincoln, who served time for robbery, assault and various drug crimes. He is in a Rhode Island reentry program where he is training to be a drug and alcohol counselor. He believes his past was not a liability but an asset. “I lived it, I understand it…I can help another person save a life.”

Previously Lincoln relapsed after completing the 90-day training program. As a result, he was convicted of assault, heroin possession, and stealing drugs and sent back to prison. He received a three-year sentence.

“Instead of facing life on its terms, I kind of folded like a lawn chair,” Lincoln said.

While back in prison, he learned to read and write from another inmate. He read the Quran and embraced Islam. In this religion he learned to forgive himself and others. He also participated in behavioral therapy, attending a chemical dependency program. In this program he was inspired to become a counselor as a career. Now, according to the article, he’s living clean, sober and healthy.

“He has the life experience that would allow somebody else to say, ‘Well. if Meko can do it, I can possibly do it too,’ said Amos House Chief Executive Eileen Hayes.

In this program he works as a “peer recovery coach,” earning $25,000 a year and receives advanced training in this program.

“Licensing legitimizes us as somebody,” says Lincoln. “It’s recognition.” It isn’t all about recognition, however. It’s about earning a living. In Rhode Island, Lincoln’s home state, a licensed chemical dependency technician earns $50,000 a year but Lincoln’s drug convictions may make him ineligible.

There’s another side to the issue of public safety. States with the strictest licensing barriers tend to have higher rates of recidivism, according to research by Stephen Slivinski, an economist at the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty at Arizona State University.

Rhode Island does not officially bar people with criminal histories from being licensed in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and other mechanical trades but they might as well.

Bill Okerholm, an HVAC instructor in Rhode Island, said that the union of plumbers, pipefitters and refrigeration technicians accepts people with records as apprentices on a case-by-case basis. But of the 250 men he’s trained at the prison in the past five years, Okerholm can’t recall a single person who has been licensed after release.

California passed legislation in 2018 that required convictions to be “substantially related” to an occupation in-order to deny a license.

PEC volunteers, employers, career and education professionals at Employer Day
PEC volunteers, employers, career and education professionals at Employer Day
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