Incarcerated people are typically denied a "voice." The Guild Program at MuralArts Philadelphia teaches practical skills to those returning home from prison, giving them a way to express themselves while beautifying their own communities.
Did you ever do something reckless as a kid because you didn't have the maturity to realize the consequences? What if you landed in prison during your formative years? These questions are asked along with stories by those who "lived it."
Does getting out of jail after serving time really mean freedom? How can one support oneself in a changing world where skills become obsolete? Job training, placement, and "life training" are offered to those burdened with a "record."
Some talented and self-motivated returning citizens direct their resourcefulness to entrepreneurship, a steeper path, but an alternative to the roadblocks to gainful employment. Business guidance and intros to potential investors exist.
Credible messengers, who help stop violence before it happens, know their neighborhood's families and flash-points, and the fallout of bloodshed. The voice of experience is a powerful influence in the interruption of criminal activity.
Left behind by partners who have moved on, and disconnected from their children who have been shuffled to foster care, nearly-empty visitor waiting rooms at women's prisons attest to the "almost forgotten" status of incarcerated females.
