Resources: Educational Resources
PARC corresponds with and mails a directory of these resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are often the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.
Download a PDF copy of the November 2024 Edition here.
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Prison Mindfulness Institute (Prison Dharma Network ) The goal is to provide prisoners, prison staff, and prison volunteers with the most effective, proven tools for rehabilitation, self-transformation, and personal & professional development through mindfulness-based interventions (MBI’s). The Prison Dharma Network/Prison Mindfulness Institute (PMI) works with volunteers who offer meditation inside prisons. Its Books Behind Bars program will mail mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhist books to people inside prison. It also offers the Path of Freedom (Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence) correspondence course. The Path of Freedom (and other courses by PMI) can also be found on the Edovo App (currently available in hundreds of US prisons). |
Educational Resources, Religious Programs / Spiritual Resources |
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Prisons Foundation Prisons Foundation for more than 20 years provides prison authors and others with free and low-cost services including books on Amazon and elsewhere, literary agent representation, advice on how to legally avoid being placed on the sex offenders registry, advocacy services to pursue grievances, and video production for placement of your story on YouTube. Write Prisons Foundation, 2512 Virginia Ave NW, Suite 58043, Washington, DC 20037; Include SASE for quick reply. Serves writers nationally. |
Educational Resources, Prison Writing / Arts Programs |
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Set Free Prison Ministries Provides Bible study courses in English and Spanish to people free of charge. Curriculum consists of Bible courses from the Navigators in Colorado Springs, Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and Emmaus Correspondence School in Iowa. Provides free postage both mailing and return. Serves people nationally. |
Educational Resources, Religious Programs / Spiritual Resources |
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SYDA Foundation Prison Project Dedicated to disseminating the Siddha Yoga meditation teachings and practices to incarcerated individuals. Sends its free monthly In Search of the Self meditation course with a companion newsletter to interested seekers. Write or call to get signed up. Serves people nationally.
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Educational Resources, Rehabilitation Programs |
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The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project at Auburn University APAEP offers access to educational opportunities to people currently and formerly incarcerated across the state. The APAEP community cultivates inclusive, student-centered spaces for creativity, exploration, and lifelong relationships with learning. We value respect, dignity, equity, compassion, and innovation. Serves Alabama only. |
Educational Resources, Prison Writing / Arts Programs |
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The American Prison Writing Archive The American Prison Writing Archive (APWA) is a growing public, internet-based collection of non-fiction writing about direct experience with the U.S. prison system. Anyone who has been incarcerated or has volunteered inside can send handwritten or typed pieces. All writing skill levels are welcome. 5,000 word limit. We read and respond to all writing. No reading fees or SASE required. A signed Permissions-Questionnaire (PQ) form is required for writing to be included in the APWA. For more information, or to receive our PQ form, please write to our physical address.Serves writers nationally. |
Educational Resources, Prison Writing / Arts Programs |
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The Insight Prison Project Insight Prison Project (IPP) offers transformational restorative justice based programs for incarcerated people designed to facilitate insight, accountability, integrity, responsibility, compassion, empathy and healing. IPP's Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG), a nationally recognised program, is a 52+ week in-person restorative justice curriculum that is currently offered in 7 prisons in California and 8 in Colorado. IPP does NOT offer correspondence courses. |
Educational Resources, Rehabilitation Programs |
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The Osborne Association Osborne provides a wide range of direct services to individuals and families affected by the criminal legal system. Our evidence- and experience-based programs are designed to reduce reliance on incarceration, heal the damage and trauma of crime and incarceration, and offer opportunities for transformation for those affected by crime and incarceration. Write for a full list of programs and services. Osborne Association has six locations: in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Newburgh, Troy, and Westchester. Only Serves People in New York.
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Educational Resources, Rehabilitation Programs |
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Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) offers a Self-Paced Degree Program, with courses in paper correspondence format that can be completed at a distance without technology. The Self-Paced paper format is structured around written assignments and proctored exams. UIU offers associate degrees in business administration, criminal justice, liberal arts, psychology, and bachelor’s degrees in business administration, criminal justice, psychology, and social science. Write for tuition costs ($990 per course 2024-25 academic year) and information packet. Serves students nationwide. |
Educational Resources, College and Higher Education Courses |
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Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners UC Books to Prisoners is an Urbana, Illinois based project providing books at no cost by mail to inmates in state and federal prisons, as well as the jail library in Illinois. Serves people in Illinois only. Instagram @bookstoprisoners |
Educational Resources, Free Books Programs |
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Wisconsin Books to Prisoners Project Wisconsin Books to Prisoners is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that sends books free of charge to state prisoners in Wisconsin. Does not respond to email inquiries. Sends to Wisconsin only. |
Educational Resources, Free Books Programs |