The Community for Working and Learning (CWL) was founded to establish community relationships and promote healing through the public narratives of individuals impacted by the Justice System.

About CWL

Aim

The aim of Community for Working and Learning (CWL) is to repair and bridge the gap between the relationship between community members and formerly incarcerated men and women.

Mission

Community members tend to accept the idea that most incarcerated men and women are relatively indistinguishable from the rest of the population. Government efforts with re-integration appear counter-productive focusing on coerced rehabilitation through acceptable behavior modification rather than cultivating healthy conversations with community members to promote healing and enlightenment.

Vision

• Debunk myths surrounding incarcerated men and women.
• Create a platform for incarcerated men and women to connect with community members to share their public narratives.
• Promote interpersonal dialogue that allows the community to gain greater insight.
• Provide successful reintegration for correctional residents being released from prison.
• Encourage compassion through reconciliation.

Values

• Collaboration – Collaboration between community members and previously incarcerated individuals facilitates the exchange of ideas and resources to promote effective re-entry and reduce the risk of recidivism
• Inclusion – Inclusion allows individuals impacted by the Justice System to contribute to society without fear of being ostracized. These individuals offer a unique perspective, which stems from having different backgrounds and lived experiences
• Compassion – Compassion promotes meaningful connections, facilitates re-integration and improves overall wellbeing. Compassion at its core, is about putting aside judgment and being open to having challenging conversations with previously incarcerated individuals
• Transparency – Transparency eliminates confusion and builds trust removing the “us” versus “them” stigma that individuals with a criminal history face. We encourage transparency through sharing one’s personal narratives.

Testimonials

What community members are saying about the Community For Working & Learning:

“Visiting MCF-Stillwater and having conversations with The Community of Work and Learning left a huge impact on me. I remember being surprised by the commonalities in their stories. What struck me most was that nearly everyone in the room came from a single parent household, or had a bad experience from childhood that stayed with them. I learned there are very few bad people in this world, but there are countless bad experiences. My perspective of the men completely changed from this visit and I continue to share what I learned with friends and family to this day”

“The men have taught us through their stories and discussions the need for young people to have different heroes, positive role models and mentors, and caring teachers who understand the value of developing relationships with all of their students. Young people need to be recruited into science, teaching, theater, etc., not just gangs, drugs, and a life of crime. Young people need positive experiences and we can do this with seeing Offenders as Community Teachers”

“Brilliance lies in the places least expected. We tend to think of prisons as places of downtrodden dreams, deranged individuals, and empty shells of human beings. Yet, my experience could not have proved more contrary. The men had some of the most hope and raw intelligence gathered into one room that I have seen in a long while. Being in prison, the men have already sort of hit society’s bottom—they don’t really have much more to lose. The passion—the hope, is very real. I cannot speak for every person in that room, but for the ones that shared their public narrative, I was highly impressed by the level of professional demeanor and optimism”