Conflict resolution and effective communication program graduates 20
On May 1, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center honored 19 incarcerated individuals for completing the voluntary 150-hour Transformative Mediation program. The curriculum focuses on effective communication, active listening, and healing. Residents learn tools for mediating and resolving conflict among residents in the prison community, and some have … [Read More...]
Program provides safe space to discuss shame and trauma
A new 26-week self-help program has been established at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, designed to help those convicted of a sex offense to understand why they committed the crime. The program’s name, B.R.A.V.E., stands for Bridging, Responsibility, Accountability and Vulnerability through Empathy. It began in January 2025 with 38 … [Read More...]
Normalization takes shape at San Quentin
An effort to transform a previously notorious environment into a more humane environment has induced San Quentin residents to discuss what is, and what is not, normalized incarceration. Some residents offer different opinions ranging from civilized living quarters, staff and residents’ relations, educational opportunities, and de-humanized … [Read More...]
Healing circle highlights reconciliation and accountability
A Day of Healing was celebrated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s Lower Yard in April. The day is part of Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and for the last three years community members and victims’ rights organizations have come to discuss the effects crime has had in their lives. “It was really hard to hear actual victims talk about how they … [Read More...]
Communication workshop ends with Parenting Prom
“Families can be one of the most powerful drivers of healing and safer communities,” resident Louis Sāle said. “No event has been more humanistic then giving dads the opportunities to dance with their daughters. I missed my daughter’s prom due to my incarceration.” For the first time in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 16 … [Read More...]
Resource Fair provides valuable information for re-entrants
Several barriers lie ahead of a reentrant from prison so connecting them with resources and programs prior to leaving prison can be instrumental to successfully reentering society and lowering recidivism. Hundreds of residents gathered in San Quentin’s Garden Chapel to collect valuable information that will help them transition from prison to … [Read More...]
New rehabilitation center construction progresses quickly
The reality of San Quentin officially becoming a rehabilitation center has been unfolding before the eyes of prisoners, staff, volunteers, and visitors at the 173-year-old institution. On some mornings, Robert Tyler stands outside a trailer where The Last Mile is temporarily situated. It’s where he works as teaching assistant in TLM’s … [Read More...]
Former life-without-parole prisoner advocates policy change
A former LWOP (life without parole) prisoner is aiding a coalition seeking to end life sentences in California. Joseph Bell, a San Francisco native, was supposed to die in prison. Bell, who was sentenced to life without parole spent 22 years in prison for a crime he was involved in at the age of 26. His prospects for release from prison came … [Read More...]
14 years after ‘Realignment’ of prison population
In the fall of 2011, the term “Realignment” was added to the wordlist of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. That was when the department began transferring hundreds of prisoners to San Quentin State Prison by bus. For months, the “grey goose” could be seen pulling into the prison’s receiving and release gate, three to four … [Read More...]
El Programa Armas Así Abajo es presentado a la comunidad mono-lenguaje de Español
El grupo de autoayuda Arms Down [Armas hacia Abajo], es un programa que inició en inglés y que ahora está siendo presentado por primera vez en español en el Centro de Rehabilitación de San Quentin. El programa de trabajo de 26 semanas está orientado a temas de adicción por el uso de armas y a su vez promueve la prevención del uso de armas … [Read More...]
Academy Award nominated directors facilitate workshop on film reels
Incarcerated filmmakers and screenwriters arrived at San Quentin’s Media Center to take part in the first ever Reel Film Workshop. The workshop is designed to equip aspiring filmmakers with the skills and tools to work every aspect of a movie set. While in the midst of a global Oscar press tour, co-directors Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley of … [Read More...]
Community-based organization programs excel
Peer-led groups are driving force for rehabilitative success Peer-to-peer self-help programming at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center finds success through current and past Community-Based Organizations curricula, bringing awareness to the rehabilitative efforts of incarcerated men. For decades program curricula have been developed … [Read More...]
Residents step up to facilitate successful reentry
A year and a half ago, San Quentin residents were told that a rehabilitation and re-entry team, a supported pathway, and a comprehensive rehabilitation plan to ensure successful re-entry must begin on day one of incarceration. Many residents said there are some noticeable changes within the prison, but they believe there is still a long way to … [Read More...]
Second chance opportunities for incarcerated
Many residents in San Quentin said the perceptions of people with criminal records is askew and believe it is up to them to help highlight the importance of second chances and redemption. “Everybody makes mistakes. We are all human and each one of us is capable of change if we choose to learn from our missteps,” resident Sergio Argueta … [Read More...]
Long program waitlists concern residents
Access to programs for many incarcerated people at San Quentin continues to be a problem two years following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rehabilitation center makeover. According to current data, there are waitlists of nearly two years for self-help programs and community-based organization groups, and according to the 2024 Reimagining San Quentin … [Read More...]
53 years of incarceration led to accountability and suitability
Fred Catano, 71, is scheduled to parole from San Quentin this month, after serving 53 continuous years behind bars. He was one of about 190 prisoners remaining in custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, serving an outdated seven-years-to-life sentence for murder, according to public records. Catano arrived in … [Read More...]
William James hosts 15th creative writing event
Program empowers individuals to learn the power of the pen through storytelling The creative writing workshop ‘Brothers in Pen’ held its 15th annual public reading at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center inside Chapel B. The event was hosted by SQ News Editor-in-Chief Kevin D. Sawyer, who has been a part of the writing program for 14 years, … [Read More...]
Music Cambia 5-day workshop reveals artistic talent and “Purpose”
Resident Alexander Parlato said his passion for poetry and music died after he was sentenced and sent to a prison where there weren’t opportunities for him to share his artistic talent. “I stopped doing music in 2018 after going to High Desert. Prison had me depressed and there wasn’t anyone doing music,” said Parlato. “Coming to San Quentin … [Read More...]
Despite decades-long sentence, resident finds hope through growth
Instability and emotional withdrawal in the past for resident since transformation Jarvis Garner, incarcerated since he was 14 years old, found redemption from a life of crime and violence through hard work and hope to help him face a 47-year-sentence. Garner, 37, housed at San Quentin for less than year, grew up in Stockton, living with his … [Read More...]
Ryan Leaf talks about journey to sobriety
Athletes sometimes hit rock bottom, just like the rest of us. Sometimes they might redefine themselves, turning out stronger than before. Ex-San Diego Charger quarterback and formerly incarcerated resident Ryan Leaf hosted The Last Mile’s podcast at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in January. Leaf attained the fame and fortune of which … [Read More...]
L.A. wildfires’ impact felt miles away
News of Southern California’s devastating wildfires has spread far and wide, inspiring some San Quentin residents to become firefighters. Various news outlets report that between 783 to more than 1,000 CDCR firefighters were deployed to Los Angeles to fight the wildfires, which have claimed approximately 27 lives and consumed over 40,000 acres, … [Read More...]
Rapper Project Pat joins victim-and-offender healing circle
The healing started from within as self-help group No More Tears sponsored a victim-and-offender healing circle at San Quentin. In attendance were 15 to 20 SQ residents, Mrs. Tiffany Love Rawlings and Dr. Clemmie Greenlee from Beauty Behind Bars, Rapper Project Pat, and a traveling Christian ministry from Tennessee. The sponsors, Mick … [Read More...]
Organization seeks to shrink carceral footprint
Smart Justice of California hosted its first forum with Young President, bringing awareness to anyone that has been impacted by the justice system. Their goal is to transform prison into a rehabilitation center. “San Quentin is unlike any institution in the state, keep in mind that this is an essential institution,” said Warden Chance Andes. … [Read More...]
94-FEET wants to go national
The graduation of 94-FEET highlighted a program that has a dream to go national to every high school in the nation, throughout all colleges, and even to the National Basketball Association. It all started with a basketball and the need to grow. Jeremiah “JB” Brown, 58, head coach of the San Quentin Warriors, created a 94 FEET workshop, an … [Read More...]
Breaking the Cycle
Residents of narrative workshop reveal the impact of adverse childhood experiences San Quentin resident James Daly was sentenced to four life terms, plus 31 years. He blamed his harsh sentence and the unraveling of his life to a torn relationship between him and his father. “I could never be the son my father wanted me to be,” Daly … [Read More...]