Opportunities and hope behind bars

When people who are incarcerated have access to education and other resources, they’re more likely to be successful when they come home to their communities.

More than 8,000 people are incarcerated in Minnesota correctional facilities and thousands more are in county jails and federal prisons in the state.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the leaders and alumni of three programs that provide opportunity — and hope — to people behind bars. 

Guests: 

• Jennifer Bowen is founder and artistic director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which teaches creative writing and offers one-on-one mentorships in all the adult correctional facilities in Minnesota. 

• Antonio Williams is an alum of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and founder of Tone Up, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated people find a place back into their communities. 

  

• Sgt. Adam Hernke is program director at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center where he oversees the HOPE program, which stands for “Helping Others by Providing Education.”

• Brittany Kallman Arneson is the executive director of Voices of Hope, a nonprofit organization that brings choral music to prisons.

• Ashleigh Casey sang with the Voices of Hope Choir at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee and has continued singing with alumni of the choir after her release.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.