Inside Programs
Hope
&
Redemption
Team
Our Purpose
The purpose of the program is to strengthen rehabilitative and reentry programs in California state prisons, ultimately improving outcomes and reducing recidivism for people coming home from incarceration.
About the Program
The HART program sites provide three in-facility groups, for two hours each (six hours per day), four days per week. The fifth day of the week is reserved for administrative work (case management, evaluation, data tracking, and course preparation).
The full program runs in four ten-week cycles per year. The curriculum includes:
- AVATAR Parole Preparation and Relapse Prevention
- Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous (CGA)
- Emotional Intelligence
Locations
- Avenal State Prison (ASP)
- California City Correctional Facility (CAC)
- California Correctional Institution (CCI)
- California Health Care Facility (CHCF)
- California Institution for Men (CIM)
- California Institution for Women (CIW)
- California Medical Facility (CMF)
- California Men's Colony (CMC)
- California Rehabilitation Center (CRC)
- California State Prison, Centinela (CEN)
- California State Prison, Corcoran (COR)
- California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC)
- California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC)
- California State Prison, Solano (SOL)
- California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran (SATF)
- Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
- Central California Women's Facility (CCWF)
- Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (CVSP)
- Correctional Training Facility (CTF)
- Folsom State Prison (FSP)
- High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
- Ironwood State Prison (ISP)
- Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP)
- Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP)
- North Kern State Prison (NKSP)
- Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP)
- Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP)
- Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD)
- Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP)
- San Quentin State Prison (SQ)
- Sierra Conservation Center (SCC)
- Valley State Prison (VSP)
- Wasco State Prison (WSP)
In August 2017, the Anti Recidivism Coalition, (ARC) launched the Hope And Redemption Team (“HART”), a program that utilizes the unique expertise of ARC’s formerly incarcerated staff to offer weekly multi-yard rehabilitative programming. Originally this unique radical program was located in eight prisons across California. The staff on the Hope And Redemption Team are fully vetted by CDCR administration and hired as full-time Life Coaches and have impeccable incarceration and post-incarceration records.
The purpose of the program is to strengthen rehabilitative and reentry programs in California state prisons, ultimately improving outcomes and reducing recidivism for people coming home from incarceration. The HART Team originally served eight California state prisons: Kern Valley State Prison, North Kern State Prison, Corcoran State Prison, Ironwood State Prison, Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, Calipatria State Prison, Centinela State Prison, and Pelican Bay State Prison.
In 2022 ARC expanded the Hope And Redemption Team to all 33 prisons in the state of California, having one HART Life Coach placed in each facility. ARC has a demonstrated history of working collaboratively and successfully with CDCR leadership to deliver programs. ARC staff liaise with the Community Resources Manager at each facility to schedule and recruit participants for self-sustaining Inmate Leisure Time Activity Groups (ILTAGs) such as AVATAR an ILTAG focused on Board Parole Hearing Preparation and Relapse Prevention workshops. ARC’s Life Coaches are trained in transformative mentoring, conflict resolution, restorative justice, and cognitive-based support groups such as Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous. ARC’s Life Coaches also provide reentry planning, support, and warm hand-off services. On request the Hope And Redemption Team is also be available to speak at trainings or participate in management meetings to assist, as needed, in improving institutional culture.
The Hope And Redemption Team provides these rehabilitative and reentry support ILTAGs and workshops over the course of 10-week program cycles alternating with 2-week breaks for administrative duties and evaluation. During a 10-week cycle, the HART Team will serve approximately 90 inmates divided in three groups (maximum 30 participants per group for a participant to case manager ratio of 30:1) in one yard, culminating in a graduation ceremony. Four cycles are conducted per year.
History of Credible Messengers
In September of 2022, ARC received funding from Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis to hire the first two full time Credible Messengers that were assigned to Central Juvenile Hall and are now assigned to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.
Beginning of March 1, 2023, ARC went through funding from the County of Los Angeles and the Department of Youth Development, deploying 8 Credible Messengers to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall and Campus Kilpatrick.
Long before these full time positions were funded, beginning in 2014, ARC deployed Credible Messengers to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall every Saturday for 2 to 4 hours. These Credible Messengers mentor, support and guide incarcerated youth. Initially, we used only our lived experiences to mentor. In 2016, David Muhammad, one of the creators of “Transformative Mentorship through Credible Messengers” trained a cohort of ARC Staff and members in Transformative Mentoring. Two members of this cohort were also trained to be trainers.
Since those early years, ARC has mentored hundreds of youth that were incarcerated in Barry J Nidorf and in every facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice in the state of California prior to the recent closure of those facilities. These young people have returned home and many through the assistance of ARC are now union construction workers, Hollywood union workers, firefighters, college students, production assistants, mentors, and so much more. This is what’s possible when we support our youth while holding them accountable and teaching them to hold themselves accountable.
While Inside
Facilities
-Barry J Nidorf Juvenile Hall
-Central Juvenile Hall
-Campus Kilpatrik
During Transfer
For Reentry
Programs
-Ride Home
-Therapy
-Housing: Magnolia, Lorena, and Hollywood Ranch
-Education: Stipends for school
-Career Opportunities
-Policy Advocacy
-Community
Inside Newsletter
We send a quarterly newsletter to our community members incarcerated in prisons across California.
