milwaukee

On Friday, March 19th at 9 am ET, Shannon Ross & Kayleigh Atkinson of The Community, Milwaukee, WI, were our guests on the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant – Live on WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, rebroadcast at 5 pm. Live-streamed on Facebook Live. On podcast platforms 24/7 everywhere. The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast is sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

The Community: We focus on preentry (preparation before reentry) and true outreach (beyond the choir) to foster and promote the successes, humanity, and agency of people with criminal records.

Our preentry inreach consists of three newsletters, read by close to half the Wisconsin prison population and some in the federal system. Our The Community newsletter consists of decarceration news, resources, and insights. Our Keep Moving Forward newsletter consists of personal development tools and commentary designed specifically for people who are incarcerated. And our financial health newsletter is created in partnership with the Urban Economic Development Association. We are also very excited about our new project with industry and business partners to create a variety of career literature and assistance to help those in prison prepare for careers they actually have an interest in and an aptitude for, and for which there are less legal, financial, and bureaucratic obstacles in their way. It will be a customized approach to career preparation for those incarcerated that has neither happened before or is possible without our direct and constant connections to those inside.

Our outreach consists of the Correct the Narrative Campaign, which focuses on people and communities who are more indifferent and antagonistic to people with criminal records and the immense need for decarceration/justice reform in America. Visit our Correct the Narrative Campaign page for more info and videos from events and interviews that illuminate so powerfully why the fears and biases surrounding people who break the law need to be corrected.

And contact us if you want to get involved in decarceration efforts so we can help you figure out what organizations and activities to get involved in, or if you simply want to learn more about this expansive problem.

Listen on SoundCloud:

Watch on YouTube:

Shannon Ross

Shannon Ross is the founder and executive director of The Community, which he founded with invaluable outside support in 2014 while he was serving a 17 year prison sentence. The Community focuses on pre-entry through its ever-growing connection with almost half the Wisconsin prison population, and “uncomfortable” outreach through its Correct the Narrative Campaign confronting society with the successes, humanity, and agency of people with criminal records. Ultimately, we help those inside best prepare for success upon release and prepare society to fully embrace them upon release. Since his release last September, 

Shannon is also a grad student at UW-Milwaukee, a community fellow at the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform, a partner with Reentry Rising MKE, and a member of Unlock Higher Ed.

thecommunitynow.us

shannon@thecommunitynow.us

Kayleigh Atkinson

As an artist, the mantra we are the walking wounded has tremendously impacted my vision. The main influence on my work is that of selfless service. I believe documentary film, installation art and vulnerability through storytelling are powerful tools that advance consciousness + compassion in humanity. 

kaljatkinson@gmail.com

kaleighatkinson.com