In and Out of California’s Prisons

Photograph Source: Anthony Albright – CC BY-SA 2.0

“I was due to go to a parole board hearing in mid-2022, when a coworker at a California state prison mentioned a recent seminar from the Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs,” said Lamar Simms of Sacramento. That was then for him.

Today, Simms is a wage-earning service worker in Oakland, Calif., and a recent graduate of CROP’s Ready 4 Life initiative, a yearlong reentry program. It provides supportive housing and equips...