Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop
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Mission Statement
Free Minds uses books and creative writing to empower incarcerated teenaged boys in Washington, DC to transform their lives. By mentoring and connecting them to supportive services throughout their incarceration into reentry, Free Minds inspires these youths to see their potential and achieve new educational and career goals.
About This Cause
Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop uses books, creative writing, and a peer support system to awaken DC youth incarcerated as adults to their own potential. Through creative expression, job readiness training, and violence prevention outreach, these young poets achieve their education and career goals, and become powerful voices for change in the community. Free Minds serves its members through the following programs: 1. Jail Book Club serves 16- and 17-year-old boys incarcerated at the DC Jail, engaging them in book club discussions, creative writing exercises, and author visits. 2. Prison Book Club stays connected to members after they turn 18 and are transferred to federal prisons throughout the US by sending them books, birthday cards, letters, a monthly newsletter Free Minds Connect, and feedback on their writing. Visit www.freemindsbookclub.org/poetry-blog to read poetry and write comments for the incarcerated poets. 3. Reentry Book Club mentors members upon release by providing paid job readiness and life skills apprenticeships, education and job placements, and a supportive community of fellow Free Minds members. 4. Community Engagement connects Free Minds members released from prison to diverse audiences from the community through a violence prevention initiative called “On the Same Page.” Our members visit schools, universities, juvenile detention facilities, and community groups as “Poet Ambassadors” to share their life experiences and poetry. Participants share ideas on the root causes of, and solutions to youth incarceration--a dialogue that promotes healing and nonviolence. 5. Write Night brings Free Minds poetry to the community. Volunteers gather to read poetry, meet the Poet Ambassadors, and write feedback for the incarcerated poets. Since its inception in 2002, Free Minds has reached over 1,000 youths through their continuum of services. Free Minds is the only organization working with these youths throughout their entire incarceration and when they return home.