Our Mission

Comic Creation: Comic Creation is a 16-week graphic-novel storytelling course designed to be taught both in prisons and in re-entry settings. We taught it weekly at Lancaster State Prison under a California Arts Council contract, in partnership with three-time Ringo Award winner Rylend Grant and Half-Evil Comics, and the program won a 2025 Anthem Award for Partnership or Collaboration. Participants learn how comics are built, from developing a story to drafting and revising it, and each one finishes an original comic script. Along the way they strengthen literacy, writing and communication skills, and leave with a finished piece of work they can carry with them.

Writing as Meditation: Writing as Meditation pairs creative nonfiction with guided mindfulness, and it is designed to be taught both in prisons and in re-entry settings. Each session opens with grounding practices such as breathwork, then moves into reading, guided writing and structured sharing in a supportive group. Participants build practical skills in reading response, drafting, revision and reading aloud, along with tools for managing stress and emotion. Each participant completes and shares a collection of original reflective essays.

Hope & Mic: Hope & Mic is a creative writing, spoken word and performance program led by Austin Alexander, designed to be taught both in prisons and in re-entry settings. Participants write poems and spoken-word pieces, revise them with feedback from peers, and perform them for the group. The program builds literacy, clear communication and real confidence speaking in front of others, skills that matter in job interviews, workplaces and everyday life. Each participant finishes with an original body of work they can share and carry forward.