Category: Blog Post

Rehumanization: Correctional Officer Story by Lynn Slay

I got into corrections because I grew up in foster homes and I lived with one foster family that really helped change me. Working Juvenile Hall was my way of repaying them, by going to work with high-risk youth. That was my dream. When I started going to college to get my degree, I realized […]

Rehumanization: Correctional Officer Story by Greg Piper

When I was in my mid-thirties, I had worked different jobs, but I was searching for something that would give me more of a sense of purpose. I had an opportunity to move to Kansas for a job with the Dept. of Corrections in Ellsworth. I started out as a line officer on the evening […]

Rehumanization: Correctional Officer Story by Michelle Threatt

I started in corrections and law enforcement in October of 2002 at Hardee Correctional Institution where I worked until 2006. I then moved on to the Polk County Sheriff’s office until my retirement in 2017. I came into the field because there was a prison being built near me and they were looking for officers. […]

Rehumanization: Correctional Officer Story Anthony Gangi

Growing up, I didn’t have family in law enforcement who influenced me to be a CO. When I started working, I was a waiter and wasn’t making the money I wanted, so I looked into Corrections and the initial pay was good, with great benefits. I jumped on the opportunity and began my career in […]

Rehumanization: Correctional Officer Story by Chamelle Johnson

Growing up, I didn’t have the best of things. I was raised in a single parent home and money was tight. I had my mom, two older sisters, and one younger brother. In school I always tried to be a part of the popular crowd. Throughout high school, I didn’t really take advantage of educational […]

Excerpt from Rumi’s “Delicious Laughter”

Eyes-Shut Facing Eyes-Rolling-Around Pay close attention to your mean thoughts. That sourness may be a blessing, as an overcast day brings rain for the roses and relief to dry soil. Don’t look so sourly on your sourness! It may be it’s carrying what you most deeply need and want. What seems to be keeping you […]

Chosen to be Black

BlackBox is a group dedicated to guiding black people towards expressing power by claiming our value. Through contemplative practices and group discussions, we desire to liberate our culture’s collective voices and each individual soul’s unique expression. We aim to show black culture that our power comes from within and is not determined by another. An […]

Addiction as a Path; The Introduction of Our Upcoming Book

For a long time, we have looked at addiction and its roots, as well as recovery from it, within a limited viewpoint. Some refer to it as a spiritual malady, yet this viewpoint fails to include the soul dimension of addictive behavior. Our life force can be experienced as an impulse. Impulse is defined as […]

Turning Prisons into Monasteries

The Unconditional Freedom Project’s mission is to turn prisons into monasteries. We aim to create flourishing members of society by recasting the penitentiary as a place to contemplate and meaningfully contribute. We currently run programs at the local juvenile hall and county jail, as well as the country’s largest women’s prison. During the pandemic, we […]