Educational opportunities inside Oregon prisons and in the community
This spring, we are offering two Inside-Out courses. Autobiography as Political Agency with Anita Chari is a Honor’s College course, and Shaul Cohen is teaching Divided Societies, a Geography course. Full descriptions and the application link can be found here.
We’re hiring! Now seeking a new Program Coordinator to help us build the work we do inside Oregon’s prisons, in the community, on campus, and in the state and national spheres of Higher Education in Prison. Help us spread the word, we are eager to hire quickly, and those with lived experience are encouraged to apply. Please follow the link for details and get in touch if you have any questions. https://lnkd.in/gavggEUE . Salary somewhere in the $60k area, must be able to get credentialed by the Oregon D.O.C. Exciting work ahead, and a strong crew ready to do even more with our new Program Coordinator!
Aside from courses, the PEP has been deepening our relationship with Sponsors Inc., Inc.- an organization supporting formerly incarcerated adults in the Eugene area. In 2023, PEP interns started visiting Sponsors, Inc. every week to offer drop-in technological support for formerly incarcerated adults such as help with help registering for social security, learning how to search for job opportunities online, or setting up a budget, while also helping with the creation of digital resources that are utilized by the staff in the presentations and other work. Since then, this partnership has expanded to volunteers going to Sponsors, Inc. multiple times per week and people now have become used to having a place to turn to for their questions and assistance on a variety of topics. UO students have joined PEP interns to increase the capacity of the work. Non-intern volunteers are a mix of people who have participated with the PEP through Inside-Out courses, who heard about the program through their academic programs, or a peer at the university.
Our partnership with Sponsors, Inc. creates a meaningful impact by increasing the capacity of the organization working to improve formerly incarcerated adults’ lives, Student volunteers are able to gain valuable experience while making an important contribution to individuals, the organization, and the community, and thePEP is very grateful to be in partnership with Sponsors, Inc. and to bridge our programs to increase the resources available in Eugene.
The PEP is excited to share that we have received a grant through the Justice Assistance Grant program of the federal Department of Justice and the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. This funding is incredibly impactful for our work. It will cover some costs associated with our courses, training in the Inside-Out methodology for faculty who want to join our program, support for our interns, new editions of P.E.P. TV and our L.E.A.P. packets for those in solitary confinement, and help us hire a new program coordinator for the PEP. Our work is not possible without support from the university, grants like the new JAG program and our recent Mellon Foundation grant, and contributions from generous donors. We are grateful for the opportunities that this funding allows.
During fall term, the PEP operated in both the Oregon State Penitentiary and Oregon State Correctional Institution to offer two inside-out courses and two inside courses. We had a total of 72 inside students during the term. One of our courses, Mercy and the Rule of Law, an inside-out course at OSCI proved to be an insightful experience for inside and outside students alike. To learn more about this experience, our PEP intern, JJ, shared her insights from being the course’s learning assistant (LA) where she coordinated course logistics, gave feedback on student’s assignments, and served as an assistant to professor Kristen Bell.
This is JJ’s second year as an intern with the PEP. During her time with the program, she has taken on a variety of roles including but not limited to serving as our administrative intern for the current school year, helping with art show coordination, and serving on the fundraising committee. As a General Social Sciences student on the pre-law track, JJ was perfectly suited to be the LA for this course.
Mercy and the Rule of Law focused on philosophical topics and how they relate to the legal system.
Specifically, JJ said that “the students altogether were challenged to think holistically about arguments and theoretical concepts in philosophy in law,” and this led to a strong community mindset within the course’s students. Furthermore, the class was challenged to come together to discuss topics that often led to unanswerable questions, pushing students to further engage with one another.”
Personally, JJ believes that her experiences as an LA have impacted her life beyond the classroom. Particularly, it challenged her to learn about concepts more specifically and to empathize with the students as she learned about them through their work for the class. She believes that this experience taught her how to think more clearly in the realm of problem-solving, and says that the experience was “truly invaluable.”
Over the summer, our PEP intern, Gabe, worked with Doug Wilson, a UO Business Professor, to host a three-part workshop series at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. This is Oregon’s only women’s prison. These workshops focused on entrepreneurship and starting your own business. The workshops often focused on skills needed for people to re-enter the community post-incarceration with the skills they need to gain income. After completing the series, women who participated in this workshop earned a certificate from the Lundquist College of Business to document their successes. Gabe was originally drawn to the PEP because he wanted to be a part of supporting people who were incarcerated. This workshop series not only let him assist in providing these necessary skills but highlights the importance of skill building and education while on the inside.
This is an excellent article, and very glad to see one of our University of Oregon graduates, Sterling Cunio, quoted! Books can be life-changing, and we have seen that impact in our classes, workshops, book discussions, and when people apply to take our classes.
Used paperbacks change lives behind bars, even with growing prison book bans
The PEP is participating in the University of Oregon’s 9th annual Ducks Give Fundraiser on Thursday, May 16th! During this event, you can make donations that will directly impact the PEP and unlock “Challenge Gifts” so your contribution goes even further. Check the Ducks Give website on May 16th to learn about how your donation can make the most impact possible for supporting the PEP.
Your support is invaluable as we return to the prisons, and will allow us to expand existing programs and create new opportunities. With each dollar donated, you will enhance future prospects for incarcerated people in Oregon and increase access to this remarkable educational environment for campus students, our faculty, and members of the community. Your donation demonstrates support for this innovative educational program, and its unique place on campus and in the prisons.
The above photo is of Sterling at the White House for A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities
At the EMU art show, people had the opportunity to view the art, provide their impressions of art to be sent to the artists, and hear from various people about the impact of art and the art show.
Former inside student and UO graduate, Sterling, did a performance of his poetry which moved the crowd. Sterling, a self described artivist (activist through art) and spoken-word poet has been taking UO classes in prison since before the Prison Education Program was officially founded. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree shortly after re-entering the community. He says that educational opportunities are among the most transformational spaces and he is honored to be part of an effort that expands life changing opportunities that increase social mobility.
Sterling started writing poetry while in solitary confinement because he felt that “on the page was the only place he could be emotional,” he went on to say that art became his therapy. Now, Sterling performs all around the country sharing the messages of hope and that the greatest social change comes from younger generations. Additionally, Sterling hopes to build the bridge between his work and educational institutions to empower change.
At the art show, Sterling performed a piece he calls Dolphin Speak. He wrote it for the Ubuntu Climate Initiative Cultural Arts Summit with the National Endowment for the Arts. He drew inspiration from the desire to perform something hopeful now that he is “no longer struggling and experiencing difficulty.” Watch his performance here.
As part of his work with the Ubuntu Climate Initiative Cultural Arts Summit, he is helping to organize an arts showcase from people’s individual video submissions. Sterling says that “this is the first national climate resilience effort that has intentionally included justice impacted people as a part of leadership efforts.” The overall goal of the contest is to “reunite people and planet in communal ways while remembering the past to move forward.” Read more about the project here. Follow the project on Instagram @ubuntuclimateinitative.
“Prison is supposed to be a rehabilitation place and isn’t, but education is,” Kyle says. Kyle, a graduating senior, has been the reentry intern with the PEP for two years. His work largely focuses on creating and expanding resources for people reentering society after being incarcerated.
Some projects Kyle has worked on include creating the reentry portion of our website which includes all sorts of resources and guides for people reentering society and creating a formalized partnership with TRIO (discussed in detail below). He hopes to leave the program with a solid framework and foundation of services as well as a network of connections around the UO campus and Eugene community that the next group of interns can work from to generate more services and opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.
While in the Lane County jail Kyle had expressed interest in educational programs to a guard, who directed him to learning opportunities there. He earned his GED in the jail through a community college program there. Kyle felt that the “natural course of action was to go to school after getting himself together,” and after release started at Lane Community College where he earned his associates degree. After that, Kyle transferred to the University of Oregon where he began his bachelor’s degree. He is currently studying Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) and got connected to the PEP through Dr. Nicole Ngo, a PPPM professor. Kyle had shared his prior experiences with Dr. Ngo and she sent the internship application to him. “PPPM is a way to give back to the community that I was once a strain on.” In this program Kyle has learned how to work with the nonprofit sector in fields such as addiction and rehabilitation and housing.
Kyle recalls the experience of returning to school as “scary, intimidating, and lonely.” He was twenty-five years removed from the school system and didn’t know how (or when) to share his experiences with faculty and other students. Kyle’s work with the PEP has largely been influenced by his desire to create resources for people starting school that he did not have access to or knowledge of.
Kyle is a current participant at Sponsors. He credits his interest in nonprofit work to his time with their program. “Sponsors is a gold standard reentry program and as good as anybody in the nation,” Kyle remarks. He saw the benefits of a well run nonprofit program as both a participant and someone wanting to improve programs and wanted to work in the field. After graduating in June, Kyle plans to continue working with the nonprofit sector to increase social services in the fields such as rehabilitation and housing.