Incarcerated individuals at Correctional Training Facility (CTF) recently served as mentors to high school students from the Path to Kinship program. The incarcerated are members of the Phoenix Alliance Group at CTF.
The program connects incarcerated people who have life sentences at CTF with Palma High School students to discuss themes found in literature.
Themes covered include:
- How choices have contributed to where people are today
- Common motivating factors of behavior
- Common thinking errors
- Interpretations of the world
- Responsibility and choosing versus victim mindset
- Proactive decision-making
- and effective communication.
CTF created the program with a focus on compassion, empathy, and restorative justice.
“We found through our experience that we have a lot in common with these young men from Palma. Teenagers are teenagers and we men in blue have experienced everything they are going through at one point or another. It is through a level of compassion that we create bonds and share our stories. Our stories are the mechanisms that create the value,” said Vincent Rivera, a Phoenix Alliance mentor.
Story by Lt. Wil Landrum, Public Information Officer
Correctional Training Facility
