DIRECT FACILITATION PROGRAM

  • "I signed up just to see what it was about. I was uncomfortable at first, but the longer I stayed in it, the longer I stuck with it, and I got more comfortable doing things I haven’t done before. It was positive for me, because I never dreamed about doing any of these things. It brought something out of me that I didn’t know was there."

    Roy / Academy Participant, Ohio

  • “This is life changing. It's going to take you out of what you are comfortable doing... Muscles grow when you push them. Your perspective is going to be totally different until you are totally through. The tunnel is going to be dark when you start, but when you get through, the world will look so different.”

    Cornell / Academy Participant, Pennsylvania

  • "My perspective changed a lot on just about everything that had to do with people. The idea of strength spotting made me assess and analyze people positively… My first perspective of a person is not confrontational now."

    Ash / Academy Participant, North Dakota

  • "Identifying [Character Strengths], I guess it was something that we all did, but didn’t really realize it. When I brought it to my awareness, I started to notice it in everyone else. It’s nice to identify strengths in others. It identifies who the person is, how to approach them, and how to communicate with them... What I’m working on right now is how to work with others around me. The group here was able to identify that we’re all different, but could still come up with something good."

    Ryan / Academy Participant, Ohio

Evaluations specifically measure indicators that support lower recidivism, including:

Positive Change in Hope, Gratitude, and/or Prosocial Intentions

*+Change in Hope: 90%

*+Change in Gratitude: 81%

*+Change in Prosocial Intentions: 74%

Overall rating of the program by participants: 4.9/5

*Hope Scale (Snyder, et al., 2007), the Gratitude Questionnaire (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002), and the Prosocial Intentions Scale (Baumsteiger & Siegel, 2019)

ACADEMY FAQ’S

  • Participants are self-selected incarcerated adults (age 18+) of all faiths, backgrounds, ethnicities, and types of offenses. Some facilities designate specific units, like the Veterans Service Unit (PA) and the Behavioral Intervention Unit (ND).

  • Several of our staff, both full-time and part-time, pair together to facilitate the Academy courses. You can find more info on each of them on our team page:

    • Nina Law

    • Dormen Lisby (formerly incarcerated)

    • Tracey Donato (formerly incarcerated)

    • Dr. Joyce Hinnefeld

    • Naomi Blount-Wilson (formerly incarcerated)

    • Shelley Delaney

    • Joy Attmore

    • Kyle Medeiros (formerly incarcerated)

    • Sarah Zielinski

  • [North Dakota]

    • Heart River CC

    • James River CC

    • Missouri River CC

    • North Dakota State Penitentiary

    [Ohio]

    • Belmont CI

    • Noble CI

    [Pennsylvania]

    • SCI Coal Township

    • SCI Dallas (VSU)

    • SCI Waymart

  • Contact Nina Law, the Academy Manager, at nina@shining-light.com