The Bridge Project
We help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people develop the communication skills and sense of belonging they need to succeed in the community.
Get Involved
Building a bridge To belonging.
In the landscape of re-entry programming, listening and communication skills are rarely taught. And yet they’re key to navigating post-prison life.
That’s why we worked in partnership with formerly incarcerated people to create The Bridge Project. It consists of two components: communications training in prisons and re-entry programs, followed by story collecting projects in the community.
The Bridge Project helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people strengthen their life skills, sense of self-worth, and feeling of belonging, so they can become active, engaged citizens of Boston and beyond.
At right: Armand Coleman, Bridge Project’s inaugural program coordinator, handing out Valentines as part of our annual “Love Your (Wicked Awesome) Neighbor” Challenge.
FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS
Communicating is challenging enough for people who haven’t been to prison. Add in a period of institutionalization, and it becomes even more complicated.
Everyday Boston helps people on the inside prepare for communicating on the outside, whether it’s with parole officers, employers, loved ones, or neighbors. In these high-stakes interactions, where stereotypes often come into play, strong listening and communication skills can be a deciding factor in their ability to secure and maintain basic needs, from employment to housing to relationships.
Everyday Boston’s training strengthens these critical interpersonal skills – from active listening to exercising curiosity to asking effective questions – all through the sharing of life stories. We also organize voluntary “Get Out of Your Own Head” story share events, which help spark connection, develop empathy, and ease loneliness in prison.
Story ambassador Derrick Sutton at the Mattapan Unity and Jazz Festival with Annie Kinkead, at left, whose story he collected and shared, and Linda Burston.
FOR Formerly incarcerated individuals
We engage select returning citizens who have completed our training to work with us in the community as Story Ambassadors.
This stipended opportunity allows them the opportunity to contribute to the community and further strengthen their interpersonal skills by collecting the stories of their neighbors.
Speaker series
Our three-part series on the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline featured three men who have been there, done that, and come out the other end: Armand Coleman, Dana Brown and Bobby Iacoviello. All are powerful community advocates and members of Everyday Boston's Bridge Project.
At right, watch Part 2 on their experiences with police and prisons.
The series is inspired by our ongoing partnership with Northeastern University’s Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline Project, in which we paired law students and returning citizens up on a a story collecting project with other returning citizens.
SPOTLIGHT:
Census outreach
We partnered with Community Resources for Justice to produce this video by returning citizens, for returning citizens, breaking down the critical importance of filling out the census.
We all wrote the script together, then Everyday Boston shot the video on the streets of Boston, Revere and Chelsea during the pandemic. The project was funded by the Human Service Providers’ Charitable Foundation, Inc.
“There are moments that define certain experiences in your life, and this workshop during my incarceration was one of them. I felt like I had a voice and learned all at the same time.”
Want To Get Involved?
Here are a few ways:
Hire us to bring our workshop to your prison or re-entry program. During Covid-19, we’re running workshops via Zoom.
Commission a story collecting project for your workplace, which would allow us to stipend returning citizens, and provide them with a professional development opportunity.
Sponsor a returning citizen to work with Everyday Boston for two months after their release from prison.