The Team Inside
We honor and respect the voices and contributions of all who support our collective mission to dismantle barriers and add value to those impacted by mass incarceration, especially those who are currently incarcerated. They are a very important part of our community so ensuring that their voice, priorities and concerns have a seat at the table is a value we hold dear.
At the Twin Rivers Unit (TRU) in Monroe, we collaborate with a team of people who have been involved with Freedom Project programs for an extended period of time and provide us feedback and input on classes, workshops, volunteers and program development. The inside team helps us stay accountable to our mission.
Our Prison Program Director travels to Monroe twice a month to meet with the team at TRU. Some of the work they do has included facilitation training, restorative circles, and giving feedback and support if an issue happens at a workshop, if a volunteer had impact and how to heal from that.
The team inside also supports the classes at TRU in different ways. Some folks lead classes and workshops in collaboration with volunteers from outside the facility. Some prefer to assist with small groups or help out in other ways. Other members of the inside team simply want to deepen their practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and mindfulness in their daily living, and share that with family, friends, and others in their community.
It’s our aspiration to collaborate with teams inside at every institution in the state. In the meantime, we rely on ongoing feedback from family and community members who share the understanding of the need for systems change.