Check out this excellent article from the Christian Science Monitor about an innovative program being pioneered in the Los Angeles County jail system addressing mental health:

From LA jail, two inmates pioneer care for mentally ill peers

The results are beyond the expectations of everyone, from a top assistant sheriff for the county to the mental health professionals. Self-harming is six times less, compared with other units, according to Ms. Hubbell. Discharging the incarcerated men from the forensic inpatient hospital to this program, known as Forensic Inpatient (FIP) Stepdown, has reduced returns to the hospital by 35%. Beyond the data, you can see the difference in the patients’ eyes and relaxed faces, she says. Outside their cells they are uncuffed (a deputy is always present), attending group therapy, and working as a team on “double scrub” Mondays, when Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Berumen assign chores to clean the two-story pods from top to bottom.

Read the entire article here: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2021/0518/From-LA-jail-two-inmates-pioneer-care-for-mentally-ill-peers

Photo of Twin Towers facility CC BY-SA 3.0 – Jjz3d83

You’ve probably heard more about what’s going on in our state’s prisons and jails than what’s happening in our youth detention centers. And just like the majority of prisons and jails in California, youth detention centers are mostly off-limits to family members, and other would-be visitors including chaplains.

But this hasn’t stopped Christian Science Chaplain Holliday from sending prayer and love to the many kids she normally sees each week. In this video you’ll get an inside peek at her work and why she loves working with the kids and staff.

During this challenge, you’re no doubt praying for the world. We’d simply like to remind you to include youth, like those you’re about to hear about, in your prayers. And certainly, if you like, feel free to share this video with your family and friends.

Take a few moments to listen to this timely and uplifting video–and if you like, pass it on to your family and friends.

Remember, your prayers are the antidote that’s needed right now. And by all means, if you’ve got thoughts that might help others, please share them.

If you watch our videos, you already know there are people inside prisons and jails who actively study Christian Science and apply it to their everyday lives.

For many, there are no family members or friends to turn to after they’re released. Our rapidly expanding corresponding chaplain program can provide continuing spiritual support. But, no one to help financially…that is, until now.

Watch this video to learn how The Principle Foundation, (a Christian Science benevolence organization) is now eager to provide short-term grants and needed supplies so that returning citizens can more quickly integrate back into society, start attending a Christian Science church, and meet people–like you–who will inspire them to move onward and upward.

This is definitely a resource to know about! Please feel free to share any ideas you have on this or other site-related topics. You can leave them in the “Comment” area under the video. Thanks for watching!

Principle Foundation contact information from video:

Jeff Harbin, Grant Administrator, The Principle Foundation
Phone: 816-759-5445
Email: jeff@principlefoundation.org
The Principle Foundation
9300 W. 110th St., Suite 250
Overland Park, KS 66210

This is a special guest post and update by artist Alex Cook, painter of the YOU ARE LOVED mural series who we’ve featured before on Light in Prison.

I have painted three murals in prisons: at the central men’s jail in Santa Ana California, Oak Creek Correctional Facility for Girls in Albany, Oregon, and Bridgewater State Hospital in Bridgewater Massachusetts.

It’s a particularly special feeling to bring something so beautiful, light, and inspired into a prison. In prison there is so much hunger for lightness, hope and color. It’s a pretty amazing opportunity to bring people something that so easily feeds and delights them. To do it successfully it’s important to have it very clear in thought  that this art, this activity, this togetherness, is the action of God. And it can reach and speak to the pure, good identity of each person in that prison.

The particular joy, to me, of doing artwork in a prison is that it invariably brings out joy, smiles, creativity and all kinds of beautiful things that most of the time seem absent in a present scenario. I love to remember that joy is right underneath the surface and it can be brought out by expressing love confidently and openly.

In the same way, it’s especially powerful to boldly paint the message “you are loved” in a prison. The human appearance of prison is that there has been an enormous lack of love. So to present this message in a prison has a beautiful, spiritual, defiant quality to it. Implicitly it points us to the spiritual nature of each individual. It points away from tragic human histories, mistakes, and regret, and shares the idea that that love is ever present, here and now.

You can also listen to an in-depth interview with Alex on “Love Extremist Radio” here.

View images of Alex’s artwork:

Can painful arthritis be healed quickly by prayer? In a word, absolutely. Hear about it in our most recent video with Christian Science Chaplain Steep.

November is the month for giving thanks, and we want to thank you for your thoughts, prayers and comments left on our site. Thank you for being a part of our growing family! Please keep sharing (or continue to share) what inspires you about this work.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you,

David & the entire Light in Prison team

“The Relevancy, Necessity, and Universality of the Christian Science Committee on Institutional Work”

Check it out, and share your thoughts!

Have you wondered what it might be like to be released from prison–after years on the inside–and have to figure out how to survive on the outside?

In this special video you’ll meet Cornell, a man who found Christian Science in prison. We think you’ll agree, his story is a remarkable one.

As always we’re interested to hear what you think. So we invite you to leave a comment and tell us your own story (or share what inspires you) for others to read.

Part of a wider media initiative at California’s San Quentin State Prison, FirstWatch gives participants the opportunity to tell their stories – and be held accountable – through the lens of a camera.

Each weekday morning at San Quentin State Prison, a group of men reports to the media lab and spends the day working on video projects until midafternoon. The participants are self-taught, relying on a library of film classics to help them. Their work, part of a tradition of media and arts initiatives in prisons nationwide, offers an opportunity for those involved to share what their lives are like in jail, and in some cases, to come to terms with the actions that brought them there. It gives voice to those who are incarcerated, something advocates say supports individual and community healing. Most of the films focus on one element of one man’s story – what it’s like to be an incarcerated parent, for example. Participants say their videos are meant to counter popular culture narratives that suggest that accountability isn’t a priority for them. “What we’re trying to do is … show we are responsible,” says Adnan Khan, who has been a part of FirstWatch since its inception in 2017. “We’re not denying our crimes, we’re not denying our actions, we’re not blaming people. We are understanding what we did and why we did it.”

Read article on CSMonitor.com here

Watch “FirstWatch: The Path to Parole”:

FirstWatch, in partnership with Re:store Justice, is a media project where content is entirely shot, directed, edited, and scored by journalists serving time in prison. This is a first-of-its-kind project created inside the walls of San Quentin State Prison.

The most recent film is centered around parole, specifically the difference in the process, success rates, and recidivism rates for those currently serving a life sentence and those with a determinate (non-life) sentence. In this video, Adnan Khan, who is currently serving a 25-to-life sentence, interviews other “lifers” about their experiences with the parole process, including the steps and classes they must take in order to be considered for parole.

Watch more videos here: FirstWatch