Insight Prison Project was founded in 1997 with one class for 14 male prisoners at San Quentin State Prison. Today, IPP offers unique and effective programs for thousands of men, women, and youth at 15 state prisons, three county jails, several reentry facilities, and one juvenile institution. Our core program is the Victim/Offender Education Group (VOEG), which includes an 18 month curriculum that was designed by licensed mental health therapists in collaboration with survivors of violent crimes and incarcerated offenders. ​IPP provides highly trained facilitators and creates a space with VOEG that allows victims and offenders an opportunity to work together, which dramatically aids in the healing process for everyone involved, and enhances public safety by greatly reducing recidivism. In addition to VOEG, Insight Prison Project offers a certified violence prevention class, critical thinking courses, professional crisis-intervention training, a therapeutic artistic ensemble, and pre-parole training.
We recognize the enormous impact of race and class in the justice system, and we also recognize that victims of crime are often not allowed to participate in the criminal justice process. We work towards a future in which the tools of Restorative Justice are available to victims and offenders so that we can all better address the problems of crime and violence. We hope to bridge the gap between punishment and parole through rehabilitation, allowing prisoners to break the cycle of incarceration, stay out of prison, and become productive community members. We are also dedicated to giving crime survivors a voice in this process.
What are your obsessions?
What problems and questions do you care about? What do you find yourself wanting to read about or think about or work on?
What are you good at? Why might it matter to someone else?