Resources: Educational Resources

The Aleph Institute is a non-profit Jewish organization dedicated to assisting and caring for the wellbeing of members of specific populations that are isolated from the regular community, including prisoners and people institutionalized or at risk of incarceration due to mental illness or addictions. Aleph addresses their religious, educational, and spiritual needs, advocates and lobbies for their civil and religious rights, and provides support to their families at home left to fend for themselves. Jewish prisoners may write to receive free books, regular monthly literature, holiday offerings, and family programs.

Do you, as a prisoner, feel that there must be some meaning in your prison experience that is still to be discovered? Or that you can give it meaning? If so, you might be interested in Anthroposophy — the path from the spirit in man to the spirit in the universe. Anthroposophy embraces a spiritual view of the human being and cosmos, but its emphasis is on knowing, not just faith. It is a path in which the human heart and hand, and especially our capacity for thinking, are essential. You may write to receive an initial package of literature containing a booklet titled Self-Development In The Penitentiary, as well as other articles and meditation exercises.

Provides free spiritual and uplifting books to inmates, chaplains, and prison libraries. This program provides opportunities for inmates to create profound, positive change in their body, mind and spirit through the wisdom found in the Edgar Cayce material.Prisoners are limited to one book every two months.

Blackstone’s accredited Paralegal Certificate Program enables students to learn about the law and the paralegal field by studying at their own pace and at their facility. It can be completed in less than a year and provides information that can be put into practice while incarcerated and once released. No computers, proctors, or facility instructors are required. Soft-covered books and materials are used for ease of entry into most institutions. Their Paralegal certificate program includes the 900 clock hours of coursework needed to sit for the Accredited Legal Professional (ALP) exam and/or the Professional Paralegal (PP) certification, or the Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) exam. The enrollment process is initiated by a sponsor on behalf of the student. Currently serves all states.

Compassion Prison Project (CPP) creates trauma-informed prisons and communities. We do this through trauma-awareness education and programming. CPP’s Trauma-to-Transformation day-long workshop kicks off a powerful 16-week compassion-based curriculum titled Trauma Talks. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are addressed and tools are given to support the healing process.

For those with access to Edovo on their tablet, please be sure to watch our podcasts featuring the top trauma experts in the world, thought leaders and motivational speakers. Our evidenced-based Trauma Talks 16-week curriculum will be available to all learners in the Fall of 2024. Stay tuned for more content in the near future!

Write for information if you want to support getting our Trauma Talks program into your facility (especially if you don’t have Edovo) or if you’d simply like to get on a waiting list for a non-romantic pen friend who can provide support and encouragement.

The Cornell Prison Education Program brings together Cornell faculty and graduate students to teach a free college-level liberal arts curriculum to a select group of incarcerated at several correctional facilities near Cornell University. New York State only. 

The Education Justice Project (EJP) is a comprehensive college-in-prison program at Danville Correctional Center in central Illinois. Students earn transferable University of Illinois credit. EJP also publishes multiple reentry guides: Mapping Your Future: National Edition and A New Path: A Guide to the Challenges and Opportunities After Deportation. Mapping Your Future includes advice about housing, employment, healthcare, substance use and more, with resources for formerly incarcerated individuals throughout the US. A New Path is a guide for people getting deported to Mexico and Central America and is published in English and Spanish. EJP also prepares specific reentry resources for Illinois residents (Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry in Illinois), availalbe in both English and Spanish.) All resources can be found on their Reentry Guides website.

The Human Kindness Foundation's Prison-Ashram Project sends free books and newsletters to people in prisons and jails all over the U.S., including We're All Doing Time by the late Bo Lozoff. HKF encourages a way of life based upon three common principles taught by the great sages of all religions: Simple living, a dedication to service, and a commitment to personal spiritual practice. Write to request materials in English or Spanish. Limited materials also available to addresses outside the U.S.

Organization supporting education model that brings together campus-based college students with incarcerated students for a class held inside jail or prison. This is a training center for Inside-Out education programs all across the country. it does not directly teach students. Write to find out if there is an Inside-Out program in your state.

ISNA's vision is to be an exemplary and unifying Islamic organization in North America that contributes to the betterment of the Muslim community and society at large. Sends Qurans and other introductory books on Islamic study to prison libraries and inmates. Ability to send books depends on the prison’s policies. Also publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Islamic Horizons for $24/year. Serves people nationwide.

Level distributes job training and educational material to over 950 federal, state, county and military prisons across the country. Topics include entrepreneurship, computer science, internet technology, restaurant job training, meditation and personal development. Family and friends of people in prison can use Level's website to enroll a person in prison.

Write for free Qur'an, prayer rugs, and kuffis as well as other books on Al-Islam. Conducts visits in Michigan. Nationwide services.

Mount Tamalpais College (MTC) is an independent, accredited liberal arts college inside San Quentin State Prison. MTC offers a 61-unit Associate of Arts degree in liberal arts as well as a college preparatory program in math and writing. The college offers 20 college courses each semester, allowing students to complete the coursework necessary for transfer to any California State University or University of California campus. The sole requirement for participation is a high school diploma or GED. No student is excluded based on age, length of sentence, commitment offense, or time left to serve. The college charges no fees or tuition and provides all the necessary textbooks, course readers, and school supplies in addition to learning support services, tutoring, and a computer lab. MTC provides education only to people based in San Quentin State Prison in California.

Since the mid-1970s, PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program (PJW) has supported and amplified the work of thousands of writers who are creating while incarcerated in the United States. Recognizing that the freedom to write in U.S. prisons is a critical free expression issue of our time, PJW leverages the transformative possibilities of writing to raise public consciousness about incarceration and justice, and supports the development of justice-involved literary talent. The annual PEN Prison Writing Awards recognizes exceptional works in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and playwriting/screenwriting with cash prizes, development support through the PEN Prison Writing Mentorship Program, and publication in an annual anthology series. Additionally, by providing free copies of our recently updated handbook, The Sentences that Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison (Haymarket Books, 2022), PJW strives to bridge access to the broader literary community. Serves writers nationally.