Two top officials of the Columbia Foundation conducted an exploratory visit to San Quentin Prison recently, looking for ways to help prisoners prepare for a positive life.
The foundation seeks to reduce recidivism and the number of those imprisoned in California. It does this through “second chance” education programs for juveniles and adults who are or have been incarcerated. It also documents the benefits of programs in terms of public safety, tax savings, and community healing.
Visiting San Quentin were Board Member Madeleine Russell-Shapiro and Executive Director Susan Clark. They were guests of Prison University Project (PUP) Director Jody Lewen.
The purpose of their visit was to understand PUP’s activities and assess the quality of the college program. Clark inquired into the criteria for attending PUP classes. It was explained that the primary requirement is having a high school diploma or GED.
Russell-Shapiro asked about the San Quentin News staff and what impact, if any, PUP had on their lives. Each staff member professed that their main goal for joining the newspaper was to become better writers. They were effusive in crediting PUP with giving them the fundamental skills of developing their abilities.
The men stated, to one degree or another, without PUP’s help they would never have been able to afford the cost of the education they were getting, much less earn a degree through the program. They also expressed gratitude to Lewen for her efforts to bring higher education into San Quentin, along with the personal influence she had on each of their lives. They expressed the positive ripple effect that education has had not only on their lives, but also on the lives of their family and loved ones.
According to the Society of Human Resource Management, 73 percent of inmates that achieve an associate of arts degree or above are less likely to become recidivist, more likely to find better employment opportunities, and leave their lives of crime behind them.
Columbia Foundation is a philanthropic organization that began in 1940 by Russell-Shapiro’s mother, Madeleine Haas Russell, and her brother, William Haas. The foundation has long-standing interests in world peace, human rights, and the environment, cross cultural and international understanding have evolved to reflect current conditions and opportunities.
The Columbia Foundation currently has three program areas: arts, human rights, and food and farming. The goals are tosupport art as a way of enriching life experience; to increase the sustainability of farming; and help protect basic human rights, economically, socially, culturally, civilly and politically.