Prisoner Reentry Network relies on our outstanding advisors and community members to provide reliable and current information on what happens when people leave California's prisons. We relay this message directly though video whenever possible. To cultivate and strengthen the Bay Area's community of formerly incarcerated people, PRN hosts BBQs, outings, and even a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. PRN educates the public on the prison system, and promotes Bay Area businesses supportive of people who have been incarcerated.

Direct Distribution of information

Reliable information about release is scarce in California's prisons. PRN distributes its resources and other information directly to individuals incarcerated in California's prisons. Upon invitation, we speak with individuals anticipating release from prison. We have distributed resources and screened our videos in nearly every prison in Northern California, and respond to every letter we receive. 

Advocacy

PRN brings the experience our advisors and community members to the administration of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and advocates for policy changes on basic issues affecting people leaving prison. We have successfully changed CDCR's policy on birth certificates, the most essential item upon release - there was no policy about whether prisoners could possess their birth certificates and some individuals reported they were punished for doing so. We have also affected the curriculum administered to everyone leaving prison, arranged for our resources to be delivered to every prison in California, and screen our videos through CDCR's internal television system. 

Compilations

Full-Length Interviews

PRN is directly connected with the people it serves through BBQs, outings to the National Parks, and informal social meetups. Whenever we go into the prisons, we ask what people want to eat when they leave. This question communicates a reality of leaving prison - people will make decisions they haven't considered for years - and also helps us know what to serve at our community events.

Collaboration and cooperation are rarely taught in prison, and although these skills are essential for success on the outside, there are few opportunities to practice in the prison environment. People are strictly divided according to race, and even sharing food with a member of another race is discouraged. However, PRN has discovered one way prisoners throughout the United States have encouraged cooperation and challenged race divisions - through roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons.