Our Place, DC (Our Place) is a unique non-profit organization in the District of Columbia (DC) dedicated to providing gender-specific direct services and advocacy to help formerly and currently incarcerated women come back home from prison. We operate with a mission to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health with a goal of helping women succeed in the community rather than engage in behaviors that result in re-arrest.

Partnership for Safety and Justice (PSJ) is a multi-faceted, statewide advocacy organization based in Portland, Oregon.PSJ was founded in 1999 originally as the Western Prison Project. We have developed a pioneering and provocative model for our work – one that brings together all of those most directly affected by crime, violence and the criminal justice system (survivors of crime, people convicted of crime, and the families of both) to advocate for a system that is just and that more effectively builds safer, healthier communities.
We are the first advocacy organization in the country to unite all of these constituencies. We believe this approach offers a holistic perspective and a valuable strategy for shifting Oregon towards more effective, prevention-based approaches for creating community safety.

A resource and support network for formerly incarcerated women.

National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) works to secure the human and civil rights, health and welfare of all women, focusing particularly on pregnant and parenting women, and those who are most vulnerable - low income women, women of color, and drug-using women. 

To educate and provide services to women and girls who have been victims of commerical sexual exploitation (prostitution/sex-trafficking) and need assistance escaping the violence in their lives.

Operated by GIna, a formerly incarcerated woman, Breaking the Chains, creates and sends care-packages to women in prison. Gina's blog provides updates on her work.

They are an international organization that provides religious services and materials to Jews in prison and their families throughout the world.

 It is an institution that stands ready to help anyone who may reveal a desire to embrace Islam and serves as a source of guidance for Muslims. 

As employees of In Touch Ministries, we have the daily and unique God ordained opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world via radio, television, satellite, cable TV, short wave, books, our magazine and the Internet.

We are a Ministry; a Prisoner Ministry. Our focus is Spiritual and on the individual looking for help. We freely offer a variety of spiritual reading materials. We provide a year-long Spiritual Recovery Correspondence Course for those in need of a more structured Program. We also offer Spiritual Training Classes on-site for those who are physically incarcerated.

AHAM's primary purpose and ongoing mission is the preservation and dissemination of Self-Inquiry, the pure stillness and peace of abiding in the One Self.

Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.®), is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1931 by Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), to research and explore transpersonal subjects such as holistic health, ancient mysteries, personal spirituality, dreams and dream interpretation, intuition, and philosophy and reincarnation.

The Prison Birth Project is an organization focused on reproductive justice, working to provide support, education and advocacy to women and girls at the intersection of the criminal justice system and motherhood. You can find an article about The Prison Birth Project in the zine "Don't Leave Your Friends Behind."

Spanish version of POZ magazine.

Magazine about living with HIV. Free subscriptions to prisoners.

To educate and provide services to women and girls who have been victims of commerical sexual exploitation (prostitution/sex-trafficking) and need assistance escaping the violence in their lives.

Founded in 1971, the PEN Prison Writing Program believes in the restorative and rehabilitative power of writing, by providing hundreds of inmates across the country with skilled writing teachers and audiences for their work. The program seeks to provide a place for inmates to express themselves freely with paper and pen and to encourage the use of the written word as a legitimate form of power. The program sponsors an annual writing contest, publishes a free handbook for prisoners, provides one-on-one mentoring to inmates whose writing shows merit or promise, conducts workshops for former inmates, and seeks to get inmates' work to the public through literary publications and readings.

Partnership for Safety and Justice (PSJ) is a multi-faceted, statewide advocacy organization based in Portland, Oregon.PSJ was founded in 1999 originally as the Western Prison Project. We have developed a pioneering and provocative model for our work – one that brings together all of those most directly affected by crime, violence and the criminal justice system (survivors of crime, people convicted of crime, and the families of both) to advocate for a system that is just and that more effectively builds safer, healthier communities.
We are the first advocacy organization in the country to unite all of these constituencies. We believe this approach offers a holistic perspective and a valuable strategy for shifting Oregon towards more effective, prevention-based approaches for creating community safety.

Suspension Stories is a youth-led participatory action research project that incorporates survey research, interviews, storytelling, popular education and art.

The project’s goals are to:

1. Develop and administer a survey about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track to students across Chicago.

2. Collect and circulate many stories from different youth in Chicago about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track.

3. Learn from the surveys and the stories about what can be done to decrease suspensions and expulsions.

4. Solicit and create art (visual and writing) that illustrates the connections between schools and jails and compile all of our information to create an interactive website.

5. Increase our collective ability as youth to challenge the schoolhouse to jailhouse track in Rogers Park.

Operated by GIna, a formerly incarcerated woman, Breaking the Chains, creates and sends care-packages to women in prison. Gina's blog provides updates on her work.

The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative documents the impact of mass incarceration on individuals, communities, and the national welfare. We produce accessible and innovative research to empower the public to participate in improving criminal justice policy.

American non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about Paganism and building community. We are positive, proactive, and dedicated to results! We are a network of members, subscribers, and networking partners, using progressive techniques emphasizing respect, pluralism, human rights, and individualized local action. 

Film: War On The Family, Mothers in Prison and the Children They Leave Behind
JACKIE RIVET-RIVER, an EMMY Award winning filmmaker and the founder of Peace Productions, began her film career in Chicago at the Fred A. Niles Communications Center (now Harpo Productions) and was the first female in the Midwest Chapter of the Director's Guild of America.

JOHN LYONS is an EMMY Award winning documentary filmmaker. A graduate of Chicago's Columbia College, he has produced, directed, shot and edited films in various areas of the humanities, often taking him around the country and the world. The first film he co-produced and co-directed, Too Flawed to Fix: The Illinois Death Penalty Experience, completed in 2001, was widely acclaimed and the recipient of several awards. He is also an accomplished photographer.

The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues — to foster sound public policy and effective government. Today, we analyze policies, evaluate programs, and inform community development to improve social, civic, and economic well-being. We work in all 50 states and abroad in over 28 countries, and we share our research findings with policymakers, program administrators, business, academics, and the public online and through reports and scholarly books.

WPA program services make it possible for women to obtain work, housing, and health care; to rebuild their families; and to participate fully in civic life. Through the Institute on Women & Criminal Justice, WPA pursues a rigorous policy, advocacy, and research agenda to bring new perspectives to public debates on women and criminal justice.

Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM) is a not-for-profit agency founded in 1985 to help women prisoners and their children maintain contact. They provide legal and educational services to maintain the bonds between imprisoned mothers and their children. CLAIM advocates for policies and programs that benefit families of imprisoned mothers and reduce incarceration of women and girls.

The following is an excerpt from their guide for caregivers of children whose parents have been arrested or are incarcerated.

Download the full guide.

Learn more about CLAIM's mission and services here.

National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) works to secure the human and civil rights, health and welfare of all women, focusing particularly on pregnant and parenting women, and those who are most vulnerable - low income women, women of color, and drug-using women. 

Suspension Stories is a youth-led participatory action research project that incorporates survey research, interviews, storytelling, popular education and art.

The project’s goals are to:

1. Develop and administer a survey about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track to students across Chicago.

2. Collect and circulate many stories from different youth in Chicago about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track.

3. Learn from the surveys and the stories about what can be done to decrease suspensions and expulsions.

4. Solicit and create art (visual and writing) that illustrates the connections between schools and jails and compile all of our information to create an interactive website.

5. Increase our collective ability as youth to challenge the schoolhouse to jailhouse track in Rogers Park.

American non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about Paganism and building community. We are positive, proactive, and dedicated to results! We are a network of members, subscribers, and networking partners, using progressive techniques emphasizing respect, pluralism, human rights, and individualized local action. 

The Prison Birth Project is an organization focused on reproductive justice, working to provide support, education and advocacy to women and girls at the intersection of the criminal justice system and motherhood. You can find an article about The Prison Birth Project in the zine "Don't Leave Your Friends Behind."

Gives legal advice, negotiates on the behalf of prisoners, and provides in-court representation for family related matters. CLAIM advocates for policies and programs that benefit families of imprisoned mothers and reduce incarceration of women and girls.

The Chicago Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) Teaching Collective is an all-volunteer group that organizes interactive workshops, film screenings, and trainings which aim to inspire action.

Publication edited and written by prison health care providers discussing HIV/AIDS and hepatitis care for incarcerated people. 

Helps educate the community about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Offers seminars, workshops, and support groups, both inside and outside of prison. Distributes newsletter.

Helps educate the community about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Offers seminars, workshops, and support groups, both inside and outside of prison. Distributes newsletter.

Serves as a national resource center to provide educational materials and legal information about AIDS in prison.

Providing inmates with spiritual food, the Holy Spirit will be able to change many hearts. It is our goal that they be given the opportunity to make a choice. 

Free King James Bible, correspondence course. Offers New Testament study course through the PBI.

American non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about Paganism and building community. We are positive, proactive, and dedicated to results! We are a network of members, subscribers, and networking partners, using progressive techniques emphasizing respect, pluralism, human rights, and individualized local action. 

Naljor Prison Dharma Service is a project of SourcePoint Global Outreach. We provide our services and resource materials to men and women in prison throughout the United States and to numerous prison outreach organizations.

Liberation Prison Project offers spiritual advice and teachings, as well as books and materials, to people in prison interested in exploring, studying and practicing Buddhism.

They are an international organization that provides religious services and materials to Jews in prison and their families throughout the world.

 It is an institution that stands ready to help anyone who may reveal a desire to embrace Islam and serves as a source of guidance for Muslims. 

As employees of In Touch Ministries, we have the daily and unique God ordained opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world via radio, television, satellite, cable TV, short wave, books, our magazine and the Internet.

We are a Ministry; a Prisoner Ministry. Our focus is Spiritual and on the individual looking for help. We freely offer a variety of spiritual reading materials. We provide a year-long Spiritual Recovery Correspondence Course for those in need of a more structured Program. We also offer Spiritual Training Classes on-site for those who are physically incarcerated.

The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to exploring Buddhist thought and practice as a living tradition, faithful to its origins, yet adaptable to the current world. The center provides a bridge between study and practice, between scholarly understanding and meditative insight. It encourages engagement with the tradition in a spirit of genuine inquiry.

Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.®), is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1931 by Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), to research and explore transpersonal subjects such as holistic health, ancient mysteries, personal spirituality, dreams and dream interpretation, intuition, and philosophy and reincarnation.

The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues — to foster sound public policy and effective government. Today, we analyze policies, evaluate programs, and inform community development to improve social, civic, and economic well-being. We work in all 50 states and abroad in over 28 countries, and we share our research findings with policymakers, program administrators, business, academics, and the public online and through reports and scholarly books.

Our Place, DC (Our Place) is a unique non-profit organization in the District of Columbia (DC) dedicated to providing gender-specific direct services and advocacy to help formerly and currently incarcerated women come back home from prison. We operate with a mission to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health with a goal of helping women succeed in the community rather than engage in behaviors that result in re-arrest.

They are an international organization that provides religious services and materials to Jews in prison and their families throughout the world.

Our Place, DC (Our Place) is a unique non-profit organization in the District of Columbia (DC) dedicated to providing gender-specific direct services and advocacy to help formerly and currently incarcerated women come back home from prison. We operate with a mission to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health with a goal of helping women succeed in the community rather than engage in behaviors that result in re-arrest.

Partnership for Safety and Justice (PSJ) is a multi-faceted, statewide advocacy organization based in Portland, Oregon.PSJ was founded in 1999 originally as the Western Prison Project. We have developed a pioneering and provocative model for our work – one that brings together all of those most directly affected by crime, violence and the criminal justice system (survivors of crime, people convicted of crime, and the families of both) to advocate for a system that is just and that more effectively builds safer, healthier communities.
We are the first advocacy organization in the country to unite all of these constituencies. We believe this approach offers a holistic perspective and a valuable strategy for shifting Oregon towards more effective, prevention-based approaches for creating community safety.

The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative documents the impact of mass incarceration on individuals, communities, and the national welfare. We produce accessible and innovative research to empower the public to participate in improving criminal justice policy.

They are an international organization that provides religious services and materials to Jews in prison and their families throughout the world.

The Silence Opens Doors Project is a new media venture by Muralla Media Works that examines silence and noise as cultural phenomena. Looking at diverse disciplines such as art, science, spirituality, politics, and biology, the multimedia stories here will draw connections to explore how silence is a response to and an activation of our modern experience.

This film by producer/director Daniel Birman explores the life of a young woman arrested for murder at age 16, tried as an adult and sentenced to life at the Tennessee Prison for Women. The camera follows her for nearly six years, exploring her life before prison, her adjustment to life in prison, her struggle with her identity and hope for her future. 

Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.

The criminalization of LGBT people in the United States. Drawing on years of research, activism, and legal advocacy, Queer (In)Justice is a searing examination of the queer experience–as criminal defendants, prisoners, and survivors of violent crimes.  The authors unpack queer criminal archetypes– like “gleeful gay killers,” “lethal lesbians,” and “disease spreaders”– to illustrate the punishment of queer expression, regardless of whether a crime was ever committed.  And tracing stories from the judicial bench to the streets and behind prison bars, the authors prove that the policing of sex and gender both bolsters and reinforces racial and gender inequalities.

Suspension Stories is a youth-led participatory action research project that incorporates survey research, interviews, storytelling, popular education and art.

The project’s goals are to:

1. Develop and administer a survey about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track to students across Chicago.

2. Collect and circulate many stories from different youth in Chicago about suspensions, expulsions, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track.

3. Learn from the surveys and the stories about what can be done to decrease suspensions and expulsions.

4. Solicit and create art (visual and writing) that illustrates the connections between schools and jails and compile all of our information to create an interactive website.

5. Increase our collective ability as youth to challenge the schoolhouse to jailhouse track in Rogers Park.

The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative documents the impact of mass incarceration on individuals, communities, and the national welfare. We produce accessible and innovative research to empower the public to participate in improving criminal justice policy.

Our Place, DC (Our Place) is a unique non-profit organization in the District of Columbia (DC) dedicated to providing gender-specific direct services and advocacy to help formerly and currently incarcerated women come back home from prison. We operate with a mission to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health with a goal of helping women succeed in the community rather than engage in behaviors that result in re-arrest.

Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.®), is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1931 by Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), to research and explore transpersonal subjects such as holistic health, ancient mysteries, personal spirituality, dreams and dream interpretation, intuition, and philosophy and reincarnation.