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Project/Program <br />Summary <br />I am seeking funding to teach a creative writing course to the inmates at <br />the Orange Correctional Center (OCC) in Hillsborough, NC. I will personally <br />develop the curriculum for this course, which will include basic instruction in <br />writing poetry and creative non-fiction, sharing and critiquing writing, and <br />reading and analyzing work by contemporary writers, particularly ones from <br />the local community. Once every three months, I will invite a local poet or <br />spoken word artist to share their work with the inmates, engage in <br />discourse about writing, and co-host an open mic for the inmates. The <br />overall theme of the course will focus on healing from trauma through the <br />act and art of writing. I am uniquely qualified to conduct this course as a <br />published and award-winning poet, community arts organizer, and <br />psychiatric physician assistant who has treated incarcerated and <br />previously incarcerated individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress and <br />other forms of mental illness. <br />The argument for creative writing instruction in the prison setting is well- <br />established. According to Dr. Ashley Hamilton, professor and director of a <br />prison creative writing program through the University of Denver, <br />“Research and data show that [creative writing] can be deeply impactful <br />and powerful for [inmates]. . .. It can impact the way they see themselves <br />as community members and leaders and create a healthier sense of self <br />and identity.” Research also bears out repeatedly that men who have been <br />subjected to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect, and <br />abandonment as children or adults are at higher risk for incarceration than <br />their peers who have been spared similar experiences. Furthermore, many <br />male inmates experience abuse by security officers or other inmates during <br />incarceration. It is no surprise, then, that many inmates have PTSD prior to <br />incarceration or develop PTSD while incarcerated. My course focuses on <br />using creative writing as a tool to recognize and process the trauma that <br />most inmates have experienced prior to and during incarceration, which <br />has often led to their antisocial activity. <br />Currently, OCC offers very few enrichment programs to inmates that are <br />not religious in nature. This course would give inmates the opportunity to <br />interact with members of the community who are not there to evangelize. <br />Inmates who take any kind of educational program are up to 43 percent <br />less likely to commit another crime and return to prison, according to a <br />study conducted by the Rand Corporation. Many OCC inmates plan to <br />integrate into Hillsborough and its surrounding communities upon release; <br />therefore, it is well worth providing learning opportunities for our future <br />neighbors. <br />The course will occur one night per month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., beginning <br />in September 2023. OCC has a building called the Peace Center, where <br />educational and recreational events for inmates take place; this is where <br />the course would be taught. I have the personal support of Chaplain Josh <br />LeRoy, who supervises special programs at OCC, as well as the Alamance <br />Orange Prison Ministry, which promotes both spiritual and secular <br />enrichment opportunities at OCC. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 0CC5A806-DAB8-46FC-8D7C-E83165B71C02