Photo: Hedi Benyounes | Unsplash
Of the 600,000 people released FROM prison every year in the US, more than two-thirds find their way back within three years. Limited education and weak social support are contributing factors. Free Minds, founded in 2002, seeks to mitigate the situation through book clubs and writing workshops in prisons, fostering constructive connections among the 2,000 `member`s. Its reentry program helps people with practical things like finding jobs and providing mentorship support by peers who have been through the same experiences. People are more likely to listen to and follow the lead of someone who's walked in their shoes.... I think they can reach people who might not otherwise be reachable, says Dr. Nancy La Vigne, a criminologist with the Council on Criminal Justice. The peer mentors repair, restore and create new community connections which are essential to successful reentry, according to Tara Libert, co-founder of Free Minds.
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