Shining Light

Mission:

Shining Light uses creative process and performance to expand perspective and inspire life change in prison and beyond.

Through Impact Workshops & programs, they seek to address the lack of arts and leadership development opportunities for incarcerated people. The US incarcerates more people than any country in the world (World Prison Brief). Restorative programming in correctional facilities is often lacking, creating a high recidivism rate: 76.1% of released or paroled state prisoners are rearrested within 5 years (Bureau of Justice Statistics).

Arts programming is a largely untapped, underfunded, yet incredibly valuable resource for reducing recidivism and improving quality of life in US prisons and jails. The Actors Gang, a California organization that runs theater workshops in correctional facilities, found an 89% drop in in-prison infractions for people who participated in their workshops (Huffington Post). Another study reported significant increases in inmates' openness to new ideas and ability to get along well with others after participating in arts programming (Larry Brewster, Justice Policy Journal, Vol 11).