"Give yourself a chance," wrote Rexan, one of the older prison inmates. "Do not think the mistakes you have made in life define you. You are…still growing and becoming the best you can be."
Rexan's message is in Letters to a Young Inmate. This booklet is sent out to youth detention centers. It offers hope to young people who are locked up. It also invites them to start writing. Writing can help them change their lives, the authors say.
There are writing programs in many jails and prisons. Inmates say writing helps them understand their emotions. They start to feel more hope. Writing also helps them stay out of trouble.
"Where the Magic Happens"
FreeWriters is one such program. Freewriting is an exercise it teaches. It uses prompts that get writers thinking. Examples might be "What I miss most on the outside," or "What would you say to your younger self?" Writers then take five minutes to write down their thoughts and feelings. The only rule is to keep writing without pausing.
"I just let whatever goes through my mind go on the paper," inmate Tyrone Stanifer told a reporter. "That's where the magic happens."
What inmates write is often powerful and healing, they say. It can help them be happier and figure out how to make better choices. Inmates who take part in these programs report feeling better about themselves. They get along better with others, too. They are also less likely to get into trouble again.
"Start Small"
InsideOUT Writers (IOW) is a writing program in Los Angeles. It has reached thousands of teens behind bars. Like FreeWriters, IOW encourages teens to share their emotions on paper, like fear and anger.
IOW also knows that many inmates need support after they get out. That's why it started another program. This one helps ex-inmates find jobs or get out of gangs. It also runs a writing group. IOW reports that the people it helps are less likely to be sent back to prison.
Jimmy Wu is a good example. Starting in his teens, he was locked up for more than 13 years. He began writing in prison. Now he is the leader of IOW. He says that writing helped him turn his life around.
"It was something that really saved my life," Wu said. "I always had my paper and pen to go to, to just escape the harshness…of my [time in prison]."
For some, dealing with hard times can sometimes seem like too much to handle. That's true whether a person is locked up or not. But writing can help. That's what Tina, who's in prison, says in Letters to a Young Inmate. "Sometimes it's hard to begin. Start small with a thought or a feeling." Soon? You will feel "the freedom of writing."
The reader can tell from the article that __________.
A. inmates must answer prompts in a certain order
B. inmates are no longer helped by writing after getting out
C. writing programs are the only hope young inmates have
D. writing could be a helpful skill for nearly anyone
3 answers
A. in books written by people who work with prisoners
B. in books written by young prisoners living behind bars
C. on a website listing the locations of prisons in different states
D. on a website listing programs that lower returns to prison