Books Not Bars
About
The Books not Bars organization is a student organization that shares compassion for those that are formally incarcerated and seeks to empower this population by highlighting their unique lived experiences. This will be achieved by aiding this population in finding a meaningful voice and providing them with a platform to share their stories. Moreover, Books Not Bars is a safe place to network with people that have been impacted by incarceration and with people who have an affinity for this population.
Another goal of Books Not Bars is to emphasize the power of education as an effective tool to combat recidivism. Through education, one's chances to recidivate lessons as their education progresses. It is our hope to introduce the formerly incarcerated to higher education institutions to break the vicious cycle of incarceration.
We plan to achieve this goal through providing educational, peer, and institutional support to those that have been formerly incarcerated. Moreover, building relationships as well as networking with outside members of the community in attempts to provide our formerly incarcerated members with possible resources that can provide some benefits. An essential part of a successful transition from incarceration back into society is being able to support oneself through legal means and education is a proven tool to help with this.