Back To The Start

We empower incarcerated people to write and produce stories about their childhood to raise public awareness and galvanize support for systemic change so that all children can reach their full potential, regardless of zip code. Our vision is to reshape our nation’s social contract with the most vulnerable of our society to focus on investments in upstream development and growth rather than paying an even higher price on downstream systems, such as mass incarceration, that are only treating the symptoms of our policy failures. Our new narrative series is grounded in the power of stories to provide a historically missing viewpoint, from the incarcerated, that helps build empathy and a shared understanding of the legacy of our nation’s systemic and racial inequities starting at birth. We value the power of transformation. We believe in the ability of incarcerated people to be accountable, reflective, and to achieve personal growth. We also contend that our community members and leaders can learn from their successes and failures. Transformation is possible-whether for an individual, a family, a community, or society as a whole.