Vera Institute of Justice

View this email in your browser Upcoming Events From Incarceration to Education Film Screening Monday, April 16, 2018 12:00 p.m. —1:15 p.m. Vera Institute of Justice 233 Broadway, New York, NY Access to college in prison is transformational. Helping people who are incarcerated advance their education not only sets them up for success after release, but improves safety in our prisons and our communities. While once commonplace, access to college in prison was drastically reduced following passage of the 1994 Crime Bill. ​ The Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) at University of California—​Berkeley helps formerly incarcerated students navigate higher education and find a community on campus. The documentary short From Incarceration to Education follows four members of USI through their struggles and successes at school. Join us for a screening of the film and conversation with filmmaker Skylar Economy, Cornell University student Darnell Epp, and Vera Institute Program Associate Terrell Blount. ​   REGISTER Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Reception 5:30 p.m. Program 6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. Book signing to follow program Vera Institute of Justice 233 Broadway, New York, NY This event will be also be livestreamed In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic and sometimes violent living environments. In these circumstances, how do formerly-incarcerated men and women navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the first year after release from prison. Drawing from hundreds of interviews with over one hundred individuals returning to neighborhoods around Boston, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demonstrates how poverty, racial inequality, and failures of social support trap many in a cycle of vulnerability despite their efforts to rejoin society. REGISTER The Vera Institute of Justice is a justice reform change agent. Vera produces ideas, analysis and research that inspire change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice, and works in close partnership with government and civic leaders to implement it. About Us — Support Us — Contact Us