The building of an enlightened society by nourishing the minds of the dispossessed

The root mission of the Everyman Prison Project is to promote enlightenment.

As it seeks to fulfill its mission, the Everyman Prison Project will serve three constituents: the prisoner, the prisoner’s family and loved ones, and society itself:

1.  THE PRISONER

It is the mission of Everyman to help improve the thinking of the inmate so that he/she can:

•  Transform their incarceration into a period of growth and purification rather than a period of idle waste and despair.

•  Overcome the sense of unworthiness and shame that tends to permeate their inner being.

•  Nourish their minds and spirits, improve their self esteem and fill their minds with love and hope.

•  Be moral and spiritual leaders and transformational examples for their children, even while incarcerated.

•  Maintain, build and strengthen family ties, even while incarcerated.

•  Break the currently inevitable cycle of their children also becoming incarcerated.

•  Cope with, and deal with, the inevitable changes and losses that will happen to their outside lives while they are incarcerated.

•  Can minimize, or eliminate, the possibility of reoffending, and thus being incarcerated again.

•  Can reenter society, with positive self worth, high self esteem, with realistic expectations and with the mental capacity to deal with their freedom in society.

2. THE FAMILY AND LOVED ONES

It is the mission of Everyman to help improve the thinking of the inmate’s family, friends and loved ones so they can:

•  Better survive the absence of their loved one.

•  Use the period of independence to develop strong personal growth.

•  Overcome any sense of shame that comes with having their loved one incarcerated.

3.  SOCIETY

It is the mission of Everyman to help improve the thinking of society so society can:

•  End the the mass incarceration of non-violent, first time offenders.

•  Re-humanize offenders and approach them with a spirit of enlightenment.

•  Transform its approach to the rehabilitation of offenders.

•  See the real “faces” of so many prisoners—husband, father, son, brother, wife, mother, daughter, sister.

•  Focus on creating programs that help improve the thinking and the minds of those convicted.

•  End the disruption to families and communities.

• Minimize the cost to society.