Theater Arts
Through skits, role-playing, and group processing, participants learn
to fade the male-role superior image that they have learned and
adopted throughout their lives, as well as develop skills to express
their needs in a nonviolent manner.
In this class inmates are asked to create art items that reflect their
understanding of the meaning of restorative justice. This class
provides inmates with the opportunity to think of ways in which
restorative justice can be effected.
Community Renewal Dialogs/Video Links
Community Renewal Dialogs/Video Links uses the tools of television and
cable, broadcasting and the internet , to help people overcome
geographic, economic, and cultural limitations. CRD links incarcerated
inmates to victims and victimized communities using videoconferencing
technology, as part of the Restorative Justice movement.
Life Skills
The Life Skills program has three important components. The first
component deals with job readiness, exploration of career
opportunities, and apprenticeship programs. During the second
component, inmates work on preparing their resumes and practice mock
interviews with employers through a system of video links. The third
component involves the tracking of ex-offenders' progress and support
with work-related issues.
Academics: Five Keys Charter School
Five Keys Charter School, which opened its doors to RSVP participants
in September 2003, aims to reintegrate offenders into society by
bringing together education, employment, family, recovery, and
community. Five Keys classes count toward the completion of a high
school diploma by providing instruction in basic academic, social, and
vocational skills. Five Keys incorporates "block teaching" which
enables learning and skill-building to be accelerated into thirty-day
blocks equivalent to one semester of school.
Community Meetings
At County Jail #7, a simulated community has been established in a
dormitory for 62 men. The men in the RSVP dorm live, work, and grow
together, sharing their pain, struggles, and successes. Once a week,
they are directed to meet as a group to discuss issues they face on a
daily basis. Program and deputized staff assist in the facilitation of
these meetings.
Loss of Innocence
This class is intended to explore and address deep-rooted trauma and
victimization experienced by inmates during their childhood.
Fatherhood (This curriculum lasts for twelve weeks at a time)
During Fatherhood classes, inmates have the opportunity to discuss the
father's role in a child's life, the importance of providing children
with a consistent and supportive environment, and issues children face
as they grow up in a single parent's home.
Young Adult Class (Y.A.)
The purpose of this class is to help empower men, ages twenty-eight
and under, to deal with their violence, drug dependency, and
recidivism.
Transfer Planning
<
>
Before returning to their communities and families, inmates, with the
assistance of RSVP's Post-Release Case Manager, develop an exit plan
detailing the steps and tools they will continue to employ in order to
maintain a life free of violence and substance abuse.
Internships
In 1998, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department created the Internship
Program, which provides an opportunity for ex-offenders to complete a
multifaceted employment training track which includes advancing their
education, developing "soft" skills, and eventually working in the
jail or with human services agencies as peer counselors.
Upon reentry, offenders are often stigmatized, at risk for relapse
into criminal behaviors, and isolated from community life. The
Internship Program provides opportunities for participants to assume
leadership roles and visibility in the community, and to change
perceptions about ex-offenders in the criminal justice system, in the
community at large, and most importantly, in the interns themselves.
Inmates who receive "treatment in prison followed by an additional six
months of treatment and job training" are far less likely to return to
prison 18 months after their release, than those who only receive
treatment in prison,, according to a study by the National Institute
of Justice Research.
Components of the Internship Program:
In-Jail Component
During incarceration, interns participate in general education, job
development, life skills, manalive male-role reeducation, case
management, and substance abuse classes. The RSVP curriculum is
designed to hold offenders accountable for their violence, while restructuring the attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors that fuel male violence, and repairing the harm caused to
their victims and communities.
Post-Release Component
Upon release, interns receive counseling and support in substance
abuse, parenting, and life skills. The participants continue with
RSVP's male-role reeducation curriculum, while also receiving support
with a guided employment search. Participants are asked to meet in
weekly support groups with a licensed facilitator who addresses basic
therapeutic and life skills issues.
Internship Training Program
Interns complete a four to six-month training curriculum through which
they are trained to work as facilitators/case managers in the field of
human services. Interns use their personal experience and acquired
knowledge to make a positive impact on their community, while gaining
valuable work experience that will lead to more permanent placement in
a rewarding career.
Other: Acupuncture, Yoga, Parent/Child Visits, Visual and Written Arts programs
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient, traditional medical practice that is
applied to inmates three times per week in order to help them relax,
detoxify, and absorb what they are learning.
Creative Writing
The participants of this class, under the direction of the creative
writing instructor, contribute to the writing of the dorm's
newsletter. The Issue. Their contribution is made through the writing
of articles, stories, poetry, and excerpts from manalive philosophy
and terminology. This class is intended to help participants develop
or strengthen their writing skills, as well as their creativity.
