Home - Compassion Prison Project

Three Prisons in 2 Weeks – CPP Goes Inside

Morgan Emmess — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:37:34 +0000

by Fritzi Horstman

I woke up this morning feeling the full effects of visiting 3 prisons in the last 2 weeks: two maximum security prisons (Salinas Valley State Prison and CSP-Sacramento) and one level 2 prison (California Training Facility): 6 days, 4 yards, working with over 400 men. I’m exhausted, depleted, disturbed, and fulfilled.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with these men — our Lost Boys. Men who have been forgotten, punished, unseen, unheard, tortured and most devastatingly, ignored. Walking and spending time with this part of my community—this part of me—I see the full consequences of our societal neglect. Men who, in order to survive, must betray themselves at all levels of their being, resorting to violence and separation to feel like they belong to something in an attempt to keep themselves “safe.” The costs are incalculable.

Each prison is different. Each one has its own energy, own vibration, own levels of fear and confusion. But what they all have in common are thousands of men who need and crave connection. This is the work we and other organizations do – we create a sense of connection.

A day of our “Trauma to Transformation” program begins when the men arrive. We greet them with signs that say “You Matter.” We shake their hands and learn their names. We get a glimpse of their charms and their concerns, their capacity to connect or not but most importantly, to welcome them and put them at ease. We begin the day checking in with each participant, giving them each an opportunity to contribute to the circle, be recognized and feel included.

Then we move on to the Compassion Trauma Circle. From the center of the circle, I speak into a microphone the first of the ten Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questions: “If a parent or other adult in the household often or very often would swear at you, put you down or humiliate you or act in a way that made you feel that you might be physically hurt, Step Inside the Circle.”

At first, most are tentative about taking a step, then they see others brave the step and participation accelerates. I ask: “What story does a three-year-old, five-year-old say to himself when they’ve been humiliated? Anyone?” Voices from around the room chime in:

“I’m not good enough.”

“Violence is a solution.”

“I am nobody.”

“Not loveable.”

“Depressed.”

“Angry.”

We take more steps. Physical abuse. Physical neglect. Emotional neglect. “Did you often or very often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Or your family didn’t look out for each other so close to each other or support each other? Step inside the circle.” I ask them: “What child isn’t important or special? Your parents couldn’t see you because they hadn’t been seen. They couldn’t give you the ‘serve and return’ a baby or a young boy needs because they didn’t get it themselves.”

As we go through each ACE question, I invite them to voice the effects of the abuse, neglect and adversity they’ve endured. I take the time to explain how the brain reacts when it doesn’t feel safe, when it’s stressed out, when it’s in fight or flight. How the chemicals cortisol and adrenaline flood through their body, how digestion and the prefrontal cortex (the brain’s executive function center) go offline. How the body has mobilized to deal with the threat. Then I ask, “what happens when the threat lives in the bedroom down the hall? How do you ever feel safe?”

The last question is about sexual abuse. Very few take a step. I tell them they don’t need to take it, but one in six men in the United States have been sexually abused. So we all know there’s more unexposed pain and shame in the room.

I ask them to show me how many steps they’ve taken with their fingers: 5, 9, 8, 6, 7, 7, 7, 3, 8, 9, 8, 10 and on and on. Our collective trauma, on display in a roomful of men who have been imprisoned most of their lives by their parents, their upbringing, their neighborhoods and now actual prison. I stand with them, absorbing what we’ve experienced together. Finally they have an answer to their behavior, their violence, their lack of education, their inability to thrive in a society that has ultimately forgotten them.

We continue with 10 additional ACE questions including questions about racism, extreme poverty, homelessness, being a foster child, involvement with the juvenile justice system, violence outside the home, bullying and traumatic brain injuries. The circle closes in. More steps taken. The room is heavy. I take a long pause to let them process, giving them a chance to feel the effects of what they’ve been through as a child, as a teenager, as a young man, as an adult.

I ask them: “Has this changed how you feel about your childhood? About what happened to you?” Everyone nods. “How many of you want to learn more about trauma and how to heal?” Every hand goes up.

“Going to the Beach” camp song brings laughter and joy to unsuspecting prison residents.

Everyone on off their feet!

Imagine, joy and laughter in of the world’s most serious places.

Silliness and playfulness help rewire the brain.

Working on their moves during the “Going to the Beach” camp song.

After everyone returns to the periphery of the circle, I invite them to do “The Banana Dance,” a goofy camp song with corresponding dance moves. I make sure to be as silly and outrageous as possible. Tentative at first, most join in and some imitate my every move, putting their own flair and joy into the exercise. Smiling, laughing, playing, having fun. The room is alive and the energy has shifted. In a call and response sequence, I tell them: you are amazing, you are special, you are a miracle, you are love, you are joy, you are peace. At the end of the exercise, I ask them “What’s the feeling?”

“Fun”

“Laughter”

“Care free”

“Not in prison”

“Get to be me”

“Joy.”

You can see it on their faces, smiling, happy, a moment of freedom. A moment of childlike wonder.

We continue the day with more exercises about addressing trauma, making connections, rewiring the brain, planting seeds of hope, possibility and transformation.

The day is over. A man comes up to me and says: “Thank you for today. I haven’t felt like this in 20 years. You don’t know what this means to me.”

As I watch them leave, their minds now returning to their realities, back to the hypervigilance and prison dynamics, I’m filled with both hope and sadness. I know they’ve been seen for their magnificence but wonder when they’ll be able to share it with each other, their communites and the world.

The post Three Prisons in 2 Weeks – CPP Goes Inside appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

CPP goes to the U.K.

Morgan Emmess — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:22:07 +0000

In June, CPP returned from a visit overseas where we brought our work to four prisons in the United Kingdom! Four team members from CPP flew to Scotland, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Tigers Limited, where we joined members of Tigers, SISCO and connected baby.

It started over a year ago when our PR and Media Director, Melonie McCoy contacted Iain Smith, a trauma-informed lawyer working towards making change in Scotland. They kept in contact and, after partnering with the Tigers Group and S.I.S.C.O, put together CPP’s visit as well as the Compassionate Prisons conference. This conference included visits to four prisons and a symposium held in Glasgow featuring Fritzi as keynote speaker. This was all part of a movement happening in Scotland called #ACEAwareNation, which is being driven by the dedicated members of these incredible groups.

So in late May 2022, four CPP team members flew to Scotland where they joined members of Tigers Limited, S.I.S.C.O and connected baby and walked into this mission together.

Group photo at HMP Addiewell

Group photo at HMP Barlinnie

Group photo at HMP Edinburgh

Kirsty and Robert (SISCO)

Leeh, Sinead, Kevin (SISCO) and Julie (Tigers Ltd.)

Natalie, CEO at SISCO

Fritzi and James Docherty from the Violence Reduction Unit

Natalie and Gemma (SISCO

James Docherty, Iain Smith and Jayme

Fritzi talking trauma with the team over lunch

Iain Smith

James and Iain

Natalie and Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk, Founder of connected baby

CPP met everyone in person for the first time at Eusebi’s in Glasgow

The Tigers Group (standing for Training Initiatives Generating Effective Results Scotland) runs programs that help to create a fair and inclusive world where equal opportunities exist for individuals, families and communities. Over the years the name Tigers has become synonymous with relationships, collaborations and a holistic approach to development and growth.

S.I.S.C.O, which stands for Sustainable Interventions Supporting Change Outside, works to develop and deliver recovery initiatives within the Scottish Prison Service, with a goal of helping the men and women living in prison build bridges between prison and their communities.

connected baby is the vision of Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk. As a developmental psychologist and research scientist, she is fascinated by the many topics that make up the Science of Connection. She believes that everyone deserves to share in the discoveries that scientists are making about the importance of relationships. connected baby brings that science to life.

The first prison we visited was HMP (Her Majesty’s Prison) Addiewell which is operated by a private company, Sodexo Justice Services and contracted to the Scottish Prison Service.

The experience at Addiewell was intense for everyone, as there were a lot of dysregulated men joining us for the sessions. During the first day in our opening discussion after we did the Compassion Trauma Circle, it was clear we needed to pause before continuing on with our program, making space for voices to be heard. Voices that may have been suppressed for many years. It got heated but remained stable while we listened with complete presence and acknowledged what the men were saying. Because some of the officers were in the room with us the entire time, they were able to hear and participate in these important discussions.

By the end of day two, we had found a clear way forward, were able to build community and connection through various exercises and some compassionate relationships blossomed.

The next stop in Scotland was HMP Barlinnie which was built in 1882 and is the largest and oldest prison in Scotland. This was one of the prisons where S.I.S.C.O was running their program called Recovery Cafe, which provides a safe environment for those living in prison to address complex needs and trauma caused by addiction. It was heartwarming to watch them greet each other as the men walked into the room, seeing the relationships that have been built through their regular visits.

Addiction was something we noticed was very prevalent in Scotland, both inside the prisons and out. It is ingrained in the culture and is a way of life for many. As is the case for many countries, a lot of people struggle with it and are using alcohol or drugs to cope with their childhood trauma.

While at HMP Barlinnie, we learned that most of the residents were held in isolation for up to 23 hours per day, in cells dating back to the 1800s. We had the opportunity to enter one of the halls and see an open, active cell. There are no words to describe the eeriness of being in that space. It is unfathomable what we are doing to our fellow human beings.

Besides the dark reality that exists in prison, the residents here were highly participatory, engaging in the exercises with wide-eyed enthusiasm and joy. One thing that impressed us the most about Barlinne was the care and concern exhibited by the officers toward the residents.

Our third stop was HMP Edinburgh where the three teams worked together for the first time with women prison residents. The welcome from these women was icy at best, they started out quite cautious and skeptical. It was important to them that we weren’t just opening up these deep concepts and leaving. You could see they were there to protect themselves and their friends, a natural instinct in any case, but also a reminder that these women were living in survival mode much of the time and were jumping to protect themselves right from the get go.

We listened, we addressed their concerns, assuring them they wouldn’t be left as the S.I.S.C.O team would be visiting weekly with follow up care so that healing and connection could continue.

By the end of the second day the transformation of these women was palpable. They left the session hugging, vulnerable with themselves and each other, ready to forgive their own pasts. We heard afterwards that the care was being carried through the halls of that prison, that they were greeting each other amicably and checking in with their friends to see how they were doing.

At HMP Edinburgh we were joined by Scotland TV, who ran a segment on us.

All three of these prisons had very little pro-social activities or options integrated into their programming. They didn’t even have cafeterias, all residents had to eat their meals alone in their cells. Fritzi spoke with the prison wardens in all three facilities, alerting them to the hazards of isolation, reminding them that prosocial behavior comes from social activities and making sure the men and women are out of their cells for as many hours in the day as possible.

The day after our visit to HMP Edinburgh was the Compassionate Prisons Conference, hosted by the amazing Tigers Group team at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow.

The Tigers team meets prior to the conference

Aisling (Tigers Ltd.) running a booth for “calming tigers” at the conference

Every person received a bag with programs, information, water and more

Aisling captures a group shot after the conference

Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk, Founder of connected baby

Natalie Logan MacLean, CEO at SISCO

Angela Constance, MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Drugs Policy

Fritzi during her presentation

Fritzi

David Abernethy, Governor of HMP Edinburgh

Darren Burns, National Recruitment Manager, Timpson Group

Mark, an officer from HMP Addiewell

Iain Smith, Partner at Keegan Smith Lawyers

Mark, Fritzi and James

Fritzi and the Tigers Ltd. team

Linda, Jayme, Mo and Fritzi from CPP

James Docherty, Violence Reduction Unit

Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk, Founder of connected baby

Fritzi was the keynote speaker at the conference which also included trauma-informed lawyers, prison reform advocates, trauma-informed wardens and more. The conference was attended by over 450 people from all over Scotland. Fritzi gave an hour-long presentation on trauma-informed prisons titled “From Corrections to Connections” and also had the entire room participate in a Compassion Trauma Circle.

While we were meant to visit four prisons we only visited three, as HMP Polmont decided they didn’t want to go ahead with the workshop after all. This was a blessing for the team though as everyone was feeling tired and emotionally drained and in much need of a recharge, which is exactly what we did.

After the conference, we took a few days to recoup before the CPP team parted ways, continuing on their own personal journeys back home. Fritzi stayed in the U.K. though as she had been invited to visit HMP Magilligan.

“Walking through the gates of Magilligan Prison was like walking into a dream — a little bit like a college campus, a little bit like the prisons in Norway,” said Fritzi upon her return from her work at the facility in Northern Ireland. Magilligan is set up to help people living in prison get back on their feet with the intention of having the prison residents live their lives similarly to life back home — known as “The Normality Principle”. They do their own laundry, go to school or work or their various vocational workshops, they have gardening, animal husbandry, woodworking (some of the things they make are for sale).

Some of the men who’ve earned priveleges have keys to their own room and can hang out with each other when the staff goes home. And group healing is part of the day to day. The warden of the prison, Gary Milling, spent the entire second day with CPP taking notes on suggestions made by the residents promising to address some of the issues that came up in discussion as soon as possible.

Magilligan is a model for all prisons. Fritzi will be working with the warden and the men at Magilligan remotely to continue the work they started in June.

And last but certainly not least, Fritzi was invited to speak at the Action Trauma Summit that took place in Belfast on June 13th and 14th. This two-day international conference with over 40 speakers was attended by 2000+ people both live and virtually and many known trauma experts shared their latest awarenesses about healing past traumas. In addition to presenting her talk, Fritzi also facilitated a Compassion Trauma Circle for dozens of people at the convention center. One of the highlights of Fritzi’s trip was meeting Bessel van der Kolk, who wrote “The Body Keeps the Score,” the book that opened Fritzi’s eyes about what trauma does to the brain, body and spirit. Virtual tickets which give you access to the recorded summit are still available on the Action Trauma Summit website.

The trip happened so fast and we are incredibly grateful we had this opportunity to visit three prisons in Scotland with our Trauma to Transformation workshop. We are in touch with the S.I.S.C.O team as they keep us updated on the residents and how they are progressing. What an honor it was to be a part of this movement.

The post CPP goes to the U.K. appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

Trauma and the Brain

Morgan Emmess — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:02:58 +0000

Excerpt from our 12-part program, Trauma Talks

We’re going to talk about how the brain functions and then specifically how trauma impacts the brain. It can be complex but if you take the time to understand, you will learn that you are not your behavior. Your reactions are not really you. So much of what we feel and do is determined by our brain function and trauma can alter brain functioning.

There are three parts of the brain to look at…

The Brainstem

The brainstem is the first part of the brain to develop and it does so from the bottom up. It’s the survival part of the brain, sometimes called the reptilian brain and it’s constantly evaluating situations to see if the body will be safe. It’s in charge of bodily functions, temperature control, regulation, eating, sleeping. It keeps us alive.

The Brainstem governs:

Bodily functions
Temperature control
Regulation
Eating
Sleeping

The Amygdala

The next part of the brain to develop is the limbic system, also called the mammalian brain. It’s the part of the brain that is unique to mammals. The most important part of the limbic system is the amygdala (pronounced am-ig-dah-la) and that’s what we’re going to focus on here.

The amygdala is that little almond shaped dot. The Greek word ”amygdala” literally means “almond.” It functions as the alarm system for the brain. It’s sometimes referred to as the emotional center or fear center.

Its primary job is to receive all incoming information from our senses — everything we see, hear, touch, smell and taste — and answer one very important question: Is what’s happening a threat? Am I safe? If it detects that a threat is present, it produces fear in us. When this area is activated, we feel afraid, reactive and vigilant.

The amygdala governs:

Fear based instincts
Emotional memory
Defensive behavior
Aggression
Stress hormone release
Long term memory
Recognition of emotions in others

When a threat is perceived and the amygdala, or fear center, gets switched on — we react in one of three ways: fight, flight or freeze.

The Cortex and the Prefrontal Cortex

The last part of the brain to develop is the cortex and the most important part of the cortex is the prefrontal cortex. For most of us, this part of the brain doesn’t fully develop until we’re in our mid to late twenties .

The prefrontal cortex is the executive functioning part of the brain. This is the part of the brain that makes us human, that differentiates us from animals. This is where learning happens. It’s where we develop wisdom, compassion and empathy. It regulates our ability to see the humanity in another person as opposed to seeing them as a threat. It governs the understanding of moral issues…good, bad, right, wrong. It’s where we understand cause and effect and therefore the consequences of our actions.

When this area of the brain is strong, we can think clearly, make good decisions and be aware of ourselves and others. When this region is strong, we’re able to manage difficult thoughts and emotions without being totally overwhelmed by them. While we might want to make a snarky comment to someone, the prefrontal cortex reminds us that this is not a good idea and helps us manage our emotions so we don’t do or say things we will later regret.

The cortex is where we want to be for as much of our day as possible. That’s what we mean when we say “Getting to the cortex” is the key. For many people who committed a crime in their teens or twenties this necessary part of their brains wasn’t even fully developed yet. The prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed until we’re aged 25 or even 30 years.

The prefrontal cortex also governs behavior control, self monitoring, mental flexibility, judgment, inhibition of behavior, problem solving, planning, anticipation, speaking, emotional expression, awareness of abilities, motor planning, personality limitations, organization, ability to pay attention, concentration, initiation, understanding consequences.

The Prefrontal Cortex governs:

Behavior control
Self-monitoring
Mental flexibility
Judgement
Inhibition of behavior
Problem solving
Planning
Anticipation
Speaking
Emotional expression
Awareness of abilities
Motor planning
Personality
Limitations
Organization
Ability to pay attention
Concentration
Initiation
Understanding consequences

Here’s how these three brain parts work together when faced with a traumatic event:

When the body feels it’s in danger, the brainstem triggers and activates the amygdala which sends an alarm throughout the body and shuts down the unnecessary bodily functions. This includes shutting down digestion and the prefrontal cortex. The body moves from rest and digest to fight, flight or freeze. It sends hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, into the bloodstream so your body can take action. The body is getting ready to fight, to run away or to freeze like a deer in headlights. This is an inbuilt system of survival intended to keep us safe when we’re in danger.

We’ll say it again…when we’re in fight/flight or freeze the prefrontal cortex goes offline, stops working. This means we don’t have access to learning, to evaluation, to cooperating, to negotiating, to morality, to a notion of consequences. Everything is black and white, live or die. It’s fight or get the heck out of there.

When we’re in survival mode, we don’t have access to emotional control, impulse control. We don’t have real control over the actions that we take once we’ve been triggered. But we don’t want to get to this place because then we do things we regret later. Then we find ourselves in trouble, hurting someone, doing things we wouldn’t do if we were in our right mind… our cortex. And that’s what this entire series is about: giving you tools to get into your right mind, your creative mind, the mind that helps regulate your emotions and responses.

This is the key... Getting to the CORTEX.

The post Trauma and the Brain appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails

Morgan Emmess — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 21:02:41 +0000

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

An Unrecognized Problem

Many people in prisons and jails are living with traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related problems that complicate their management and treatment while they are incarcerated. Because most prisoners will be released, these problems will also pose challenges when they return to the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizes TBI in prisons and jails as an important public health problem.

What is known about TBI and related problems in prisons and jails?

General

According to jail and prison studies, 25-87% of inmates report having experienced a head injury or TBI as compared to 8.5% in a general population
reporting a history of TBI.
Almost two million people currently reside in U.S. prisons and jails.
Prisoners who have had head injuries may also experience mental health problems such as severe depression and anxiety, substance use disorders,
difficulty controlling anger,
or suicidal thoughts and/or attempts.

Women

Women inmates who are convicted of a violent crime are more likely to have sustained a pre-crime TBI and/or some other form of physical abuse.
Although women are outnumbered by men in U.S. prisons and jails, their numbers more than doubled from 1990 to 2000. As of June 2005, more than 200,000 women were incarcerated. Women now represent 7% of the total U.S. prison population and 12% of the total U.S. jail population.
Women with substance use disorders have an increased risk for TBI compared with other women in the general U.S. population.
Preliminary results from one study suggest that TBI among women in prison is very common.

Substance abuse, violence, and homelessness:

Studies of prisoners’ self-reported health indicate that those with one or more head injuries have significantly higher levels of alcohol and/or drug use during the year preceding their current incarceration.
The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that 52% of female offenders and 41% of male offenders are under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both at the time of their arrest, and that 64% of male arrestees tested positive for at least one of five illicit drugs [cocaine, opioids, marijuana, methamphetamines, or PCP].
Children and teenagers who have been convicted of a crime are more likely to have had a pre-crime TBI and/or some other kind of physical abuse.
Among male prisoners, a history of TBI is strongly associated with perpetration of domestic and other kinds of violence.
Homelessness has been found to be related to both head injury and prior imprisonment.

How do TBI-related problems affect prisoners with TBI and others during incarceration?

A TBI may cause many different problems:

Attention deficits may make it difficult for the prisoner with TBI to focus on a required task or respond to directions given by a correctional officer. Either situation may be misinterpreted, thus leading to an impression of deliberate defiance on the part of the prisoner.
Memory deficits can make it difficult to understand or remember rules or directions, which can lead to disciplinary actions by jail or prison staff.
Irritability or anger might be difficult to control and can lead to an incident with another prisoner or correctional officer and to further injury for the person and others.
Slowed verbal and physical responses may be interpreted by correctional officers as uncooperative behavior.
Uninhibited or impulsive behavior, including problems controlling anger and unacceptable sexual behavior, may provoke other prisoners or result in disciplinary action by jail or prison staff.

What is needed to address the problem of TBI in jails and prisons?

Abuse in America’s Prisons recommends increased health screenings, evaluations, and treatment for inmates. In addition, TBI experts and some prison officials have suggested:

Routine screening of jail and prison inmates to identify a history of TBI.
Screening inmates with TBI for possible alcohol and/or substance abuse and appropriate treatment for these co-occurring conditions.
Additional evaluations to identify specific TBI-related problems and determine how they should be managed. Special attention should be given to impulsive behavior, including violence, sexual behavior and suicide risk if the inmate is depressed.

The post Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Morgan Emmess — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:39:04 +0000

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Affects Everyone. We have created this TBI Awareness Campaign so you can understand the effects of TBI as well as the symptoms and begin to find healing from this injury that may have happened when you were a child or teenager.

In this post we have included information from Mindsource Brain Injury Network, as well as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in an effort to help you learn about the different symptoms you might be facing and simple ways to address some of the problems that show up for you in your day-to-day life.

Traumatic Brain Injury can make it difficult to think clearly, follow instructions, control anger and aggression and for some, understand instructions and complete simple tasks. For prison residents, the stakes couldn’t get any higher. If their inability to follow commands is interpreted as defiance, this could cause a bunch of problems including penalties, segregated housing or even an extension of their sentence.

Definitions of TBI:

An insult to the brain caused by an external force that results in an altered state of consciousness and one or more impairments of brain function. The effects may be temporary or permanent.

Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2011

Impairments in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving and perception.

Neurocognitive disorders (boundless.com)

Leading causes of brain injuries:

Falls
Struck by object
Vehicle Accidents
Assaults
Sporting Accidents

Causes of TBI Statistics from Centers for Disease Control for 2002-2006 indicate that the leading cause of brain injury is falls (35%) followed by car crashes (17%) and being struck by an object (16%). Emergency room visits due to TBI caused by falls are increasing for both younger and older people. However, if you focus only on moderate to severe TBI (those injuries that require admission to a neurointensive care unit), car crashes are the most frequent cause of TBI, followed by gunshot wound, falls, and assault.

The impact of a traumatic brain injury on an individual’s level of functioning afterward depends on the following:

The severity of the initial injury
The rate/completeness of physiological recovery
Which of the brain’s functions are directly affected by the injury
The meaning of the dysfunction to the individual (in other words, how reliant was the person on those functions before they were lost?)
Resources available to aid recovery (medical, counseling, etc.)
What areas of function remain intact and operational after the injury

TBI Symptoms

Brain injuries can range in scope from mild to severe. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can result in permanent neuro-biological damage that can, to varying degrees, produce lifelong challenges for the individual.

According to the CDC:

A brain injury resulting in altered mental status and/or loss of consciousness for up to 30 minutes may be called “mild.”
Unconsciousness lasting from 30 minutes to 24 hours is associated with brain injuries of moderate severity,
Unconsciousness lasting longer than 24 hours (coma) are classified as severe.

Dr. Kim Gorgens explains Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Dr. Kim Gorgens is a Professor of Psychophysiology, Clinical Neuropsychology and Psychology of Criminal Behavior at University of Denver. She manages a large portfolio of traumatic brain injury, TBI, related research, and has lectured extensively on those issues, including a 2010 Ted Talk on youth sports concussion, a 2018 Ted talk on brain injuries and criminal justice, several NPR spots, and an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Her work has been featured in US News, Newsweek Salon and more. Her research studies the reported injury history, cognitive function, and brain biomarkers of youth and college athletes, probationers and inmates. Her mission is to better understand the short and long-term impacts of injuring our most vital organ.

Watch: Brain Injuries and Crime – The Startling Connection with Neuropsychologist Dr. Kim Gorgens

Effects of a traumatic brain injury can include:

Cognitive Deficits

- ATTENTION – Feeling mentally “foggy”
- CONCENTRATION – Difficulty concentrating
- DISTRACTIBILITY – Inability to focus
- MEMORY – Forgetting recent conversations or information, difficulty remembering
- SPEED OF PROCESSING Feeling slowed down
- CONFUSION – Confused about recent events, difficulty understanding or making sense of the goings-on in the world around you
- FEELING DAZED OR STUNNED
- PERSEVERATION – Continual involuntary repetition of a thought or behavior
- IMPULSIVENESS
- DIFFICULTIES WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE:

Language Processing – Answering questions slowly, repeating questions
Not understanding the spoken word (called “receptive aphasia”)
Difficulty speaking and being understood (called “expressive aphasia”)
Slurred speech
Speaking very quickly or very slowly
Problems with reading
Problems with writing

Physical Deficits

- HEADACHES
- NAUSEA
- VOMITING
- BALANCE
- PROBLEMS
- FATIGUE
- NUMBNESS/TINGLING IN LIMBS
- MENSTRUAL DIFFICULTIES
- SEIZURES – Involuntary convulsions which can involve disruption in consciousness, sensory perception, or motor movements
- PHYSICAL PARALYSIS/SPASTICITY
- CHRONIC PAIN
- LOSS OF BOWEL AND BLADDER CONTROL
- LOSS OF STAMINA/ENERGY
- APPETITE CHANGES
- POOR REGULATION OF BODY TEMPERATURE
- SLEEP DISORDERS:
Drowsiness
Sleeping less than usual
Sleeping more than usual
Trouble falling asleep

Sensory Deficits

- DECREASE IN, OR LOSS OF, HEARING ABILITY
- RINGING IN THE EARS (called “Tinnitus”)
- INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO SOUND OR LIGHT
- PARTIAL OR TOTAL LOSS OF VISION
- WEAKNESS OF EYE MUSCLES AND DOUBLE VISION (Diplopia)
- BLURRED VISION
- PROBLEMS JUDGING DISTANCES VISUALLY
- INVOLUNTARY EYE MOVEMENTS
  (called “Nystagmus”)
- INTOLERANCE OF LIGHT (called “Photophobia”)
- LOST OR DIMINISHED SENSE OF SMELL (called “Anosmia”)
- LOST OR DIMINISHED SENSE OF TASTE
- INABILITY TO FILTER SENSES,
- EASILY OVERLOADED
- DIFFICULTY WITH THE INTERPRETATIONOF TOUCH, TEMPERATURE, MOVEMENT, LIMB POSITION

Social-Emotional Deficits

DEPENDENT BEHAVIORS (needing to rely on help from others to accomplish tasks)
EMOTIONAL LABILITY (mood swings, unpredictable emotional displays, intense moods)
LACK OF MOTIVATION
IRRITABILITY
SADNESS
NERVOUSNESS
AGGRESSION
DEPRESSION
DISINHIBITION/IMPULSIVITY
DENIAL/LACK OF AWARENESS

Source.

TBI is associated with an increased risk for irritability, temper outbursts and decreased self control in addition to cognitive problems such as attention and memory. Five years after a severe brain injury, 64% were described as having a bad temper and 54% threatened violence.

While a person may have been calm and controlled before their injury, afterwards they may become quick-tempered and lack inhibition. TBI also increases the risk for psychiatric disorders and substance abuse. Studies indicate that abusive experiences in a person’s life tend to increase the inclination toward violence after brain impairment.

Source.

Supporting incarcerated individuals with TBI

50% – 80% of people in prison have experienced some form of TBI. When we look at the female population that number jumps to as high as 97%. This is mainly due to the act of strangulation. A lot of domestic violence results in strangulation which can injure the brain.

Challenges which are unique to the prison setting arise for incarcerated individuals with a TBI. These challenges may include:

Having difficulty understanding directions
Appearing to be slow or unresponsive to staff requests
Having trouble remembering instructions from staff
Acting impulsively with staff or other incarcerated individuals
Having difficulty organizing one’s cell and keeping it tidy
Having rapid mood swings with no apparent reason, making a person more volatile in public spaces
Responding too aggressively to other incarcerated individuals or staff
Having anxiety or depression and withdrawing from social interaction
Being more sensitive to lights and sounds, especially in crowded common areas

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

The best thing you can do to help heal your brain, is get out and exercise! Exercise helps heal the brain. Running, jogging, sprinting, weight-lifting, burpees and any other cardiovascular exercise helps promote the production of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the brain.

“BDNF is like Miracle Gro for the brain.”
— Dr. Kim Gorgens, Neuropsychologist

Researchers have found that a single session of exercise can increase the BDNF protein in the brain. It is about creating cardiovascular demand—getting your heart rate up for even a short time—in animals, that is 60 seconds which is an attainable goal for most of us!

Make cardiovascular exercise part of your every day routine.

Summary

Traumatic Brain Injury in prison is common. Up to 80% of prison residents have TBI. (In some prisons that number is as high as 87% and in women’s prisons, it can go as high as 97%.)

Having a TBI can make it difficult to think clearly and communicate to people what’s going on. Awareness that you have suffered a TBI and that it has affected you, is key to maneuvering through prison. Letting people you are living and working with know that you have trouble perhaps with understanding things or hearing things or remembering things can change (among other issues) the outcome of your time in prison — lowering the stress and frustration that can happen when someone is misunderstood.

Being aware of the issues surrounding Traumatic Brain Injury helps you and your environment become “trauma-informed” and can help your community become more understanding and compassionate towards our own limitations. Healing is possible, we just need to know that we’re injured in the first place.

The post March is Brain Injury Awareness Month appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

Prisons are a Public-Safety Hazard

Morgan Emmess — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 21:36:19 +0000

by Fritzi Horstman

Brandon Elliot assaulted a 65-year old Asian-American woman in NYC late March 2021. He had been incarcerated for stabbing his mother in 2002 — most likely after a life of adversity and violence. Brandon was not rehabilitated in prison and was put on “lifetime” parole when released — the prison system knew Brandon wasn’t safe, they did nothing to help him rehabilitate and they released him knowingly.

We must question how he spent 19 years behind bars, how he was treated in prison. How long did he spend in solitary confinement? Did he have access to mental health services, education and rehabilitative programs? What provisions were in place to make sure Brandon was fit to return to the streets?

With a US recidivism rate upwards of 79%, US Prisons are a danger to public safety. According to the National Institute of Justice, for every 5 people that return to society, within 5 years of their release, 4 of them will return to prison. If you are a tax-paying citizen, prisons have done nothing to reduce crime in your community and the men and women who return from the institutionalizing and dehumanizing practices of prison are in worse shape than when they first entered the system. The cost of incarcerating 1.8 million people is upwards of $80 billion dollars per year. If this was a business, the US would have filed bankruptcy decades ago. We have conflated punishment and dehumanization with public safety, which, it turns out, is the exact opposite of what actually works.

Since the Reagan era, prisons have become military installations, our citizens prisoners of war. 37% of the men and women involved in the prison system have documented mental health issues exacerbated by prison conditions. Most of these issues stem from high levels of adversity and abuse. “Our incarceration policy is very costly with relatively few benefits and a lot of deleterious effects on our economy and our families and on the fabric of our communities,” says June Tangney, PhD.

95% of the people in prison will be released someday. Below are some of the injurious practices that continue to exacerbate or create mental health issues. These practices jeopardize not only the safety within the prison walls but also the safety of the rest of society, when the people living in prisons are released:

Solitary Confinement:

More than 15 days in solitary confinement is considered torture according to the UN. “Restrictive Housing” has been the go-to solution for correctional officers for infractions as small as having too many envelopes in a cell or disagreeing with an officer.

In a 2001, a “Recidivism in Connecticut” study showed that within a three year period there was a 92% recidivism rate for inmates who were kept in solitary confinement for disciplinary problems or violent behavior, compared to the national average recidivism rate of 66%.

(Solution: When DOC Colorado ended long-term solitary confinement, violence went down by 80%. End long-term solitary.)

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI):

Up to 80% of the men and women in prison have traumatic brain injuries. As science knows and people are beginning to understand, damage to the prefrontal cortex has symptoms consisting “of major antisocial behaviors such as disinhibition, emotional lability (rapid, exaggerated changes in mood), and impulsivity”, the exact personality disorders people with criminal records are accused of having. Not only are people with TBI inclined towards impulsive behaviors, but without a functioning brain how do we expect people with TBI in prison to obey simple rules when “thinking
straight” is not possible.

(Solution: Trauma-informed curriculum, brain scans, brain therapy and compassion.)

Inadequate Mental Health Treatment:

The three largest mental health centers in the US are Cook County Jail in Chicago, Los Angeles County Jail and Riker’s Island in NYC. Governors and politicians know that mental health problems are the major drivers of criminal behavior and yet instead of assisting in the care and treatment of these disorders, we exacerbate mental health issues with more violence, retributive punishments and dehumanization.

(Solution: build mental health centers instead of prisons.)

Mental Health Issues for Correctional Officers and Staff:

The life expectancy of a correctional officer is 59 years. 35% of correctional officers report having symptoms of PTSD (and these are only the reported symptoms). With a 39% higher suicide rate and a 20% higher separation and divorce rate than the national averages, jobs in corrections are toxic, dangerous and harmful to self and family. Working in a hostile and punitive environment, constantly in a state of hypervigilance, living in a continual fight/flight response scenario, is more than any human can endure and ultimately survive.

(Solution: Trauma-Informed/Trauma-Responsive training, end stigma of PTSD symptoms, peer-to-peer support groups, end military training in prisons, end condoning of violence.)

Demoralizing restrictions, slavery, fines, fees, inedible food and taxing the poor:

In most countries, restriction of liberty is the punishment, all rights and privileges as a citizen remain intact – voting, access to healthcare and dental care, family connection, pursuit of happiness. However, in the US, prisons continue the dehumanizing “constitutional” practice of slavery, allow inedible and non-nutrious food = hunger, inflate costs for phone calls and video connection (up to more than $1/minute), forced usage of commissary for satisfaction of basic human needs…at the personal expense of the incarcerated individual and their families, implement arbitrary rules which can land you in solitary and impart thousands of restrictions and confines that perpetuate loss of human dignity and hope.

(Solution: allow for human decency.)

Scant education and self-help programming:

According to the Vera Institute: “Research shows that—among other benefits to individuals, families, communities, and prisons—incarcerated people who participate in prison education programs are 43 percent less likely to recidivate than those who do not.” Time spent out of cells, doing meaningful work, self-help classes and education (known in Norway as “activation”) prevents the following: suicide, damage by isolation, violence and threats, and helps reduce the use of safety cells, segregation, and other restrictive measures.

(Solution: make programming and education a priority.)

Eventually Brandon Elliot and 1.8 million people will be returned to our neighborhoods, our communities, our lives. We have an obligation to make rehabilitation and trauma-informed practices a priority so that they can return to us again having been treated humanely rather than dehumanized and destroyed, provide educational and self-awareness programs and mental health treatment rather than be met with aggression and neglect. Compassion is what helps people transform, let’s prepare them to be back in our lives as caring, healthy, tax-paying, productive members of society.

Help bring our 12-part video and workbook series, Trauma Talks, to your community:

The post Prisons are a Public-Safety Hazard appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

What is the Source of our Sorrow? CPP Volunteers Share their Hearts with the Incarcerated

Morgan Emmess — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:11:42 +0000

by Mary Diamond

Compassion Prison Project staff and volunteers visited Valley State Prison (California) to launch the Trauma Talks video series. The purpose of this series is to educate residents about trauma; how to recognize their own childhood trauma, to see how it affected them in the past and how it continues to impact their lives now.

What is trauma?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): “trauma results from an event, a series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening”. There is a vast body of data demonstrating that childhood trauma can be especially detrimental, affecting physical and mental health, both in the short and long term. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician and currently the Surgeon General of the State of California joined the CPP team at Valley State Prison.

Dr. Burke Harris addresses childhood trauma in her book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity. In her practice, she recognized a link between trauma and the health of her young patients, like one girl who had asthma attacks every time her father hit the wall, or one boy who stopped growing after a sexual assault when he was 4-years old. These young patients led her to learn more about adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs.

"Because we were raised in chaotic or controlling homes, our internal compass is oriented toward excitement, pain and shame. This inner world can be described as an 'inside drug store.' The shelves are stocked with bottles of excitement, toxic shame, self hate, self doubt and stress."

John Adams Tweet

Take the ACE Test

Did you experience one or more ACEs? If you respond positively, you are not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “61% of adults surveyed across 25 states reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs”. 78% of the prison population in the United States, on the other hand, experienced four or more ACEs. The men at Valley State Prison, in sharing their own trauma with the CPP team, now know they are not alone in their sorrow.

Trauma and the Brain

Becoming aware of our trauma through the ACE test, and understanding how trauma affects our brains is the first step towards healing. Normally, in the face of trauma, individuals enter an automatic, biological (natural) “alarm state,” with an increase in hormones and a sense of fear. Consequently, we react with a “fight” or “flight” response. In children, repeated or prolonged exposure to traumatic events can overload the “alarm state”, short-circuiting healthy neural connections, which will affect the brain’s architecture. The child’s brain adapts to survive the trauma, which can ultimately compromise mental, emotional, and social functioning and normal, healthy development.

"The part of our brain that is devoted to ensuring survival (deep below our rational brain) is not very good at denial. Long after a traumatic experience is over, it may be reactivated at the slightest hint of danger and mobilize disturbed brain circuits and secrete massive amounts of stress hormones. This precipitates unpleasant emotions, intense physical sensations, and impulsive and aggressive actions. These post-traumatic reactions feel incomprehensible and overwhelming. Feeling out of control, survivors of trauma often begin to fear that they are damaged to the core and beyond redemption."

Bessel van der Kolk Tweet

Recognizing Trauma

The symptoms of trauma range from mild to severe and include emotional, psychological and physical responses. To name only a few, traumatized people, in the short or long term, may experience anger, fear, sadness, depression, anxiety, shame, numbness, headaches, fatigue, and/or digestive issues. If you have experienced or are experiencing these symptoms, take the time to learn more about symptoms of childhood trauma.

Healing is Possible

While it may be very difficult to face our pasts, the reality is that trauma has deeply affected our lives, and especially the lives of the incarcerated. In becoming aware of our trauma, we recognize we have the choice to heal.

Compassion Prison Project’s Trauma Talks is all about educating the staff, prison residents, and the community-at-large, about childhood trauma. We offer healing modalities, mental and emotional exercises and much more, as the goal is to share how to be more compassionate, self-accepting and self-loving. In the words of trauma expert, Peter A. Levine, PhD, “Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”

Please help us on Giving Tuesday to help others heal through our shared humanity, empathy, and compassion. Support Trauma Talks today by making a donation here.

Watch some of our volunteers talk about the heartbreak they experienced while at Valley State Prison…

The post What is the Source of our Sorrow? CPP Volunteers Share their Hearts with the Incarcerated appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

CPP Volunteers Remind The Incarcerated That They Matter

Morgan Emmess — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 21:36:41 +0000

by Robert Wells

When was the last time someone told you that you mattered? For many incarcerated people, it’s something they likely haven’t heard in a long time, if ever.

In addition to educating and providing resources, a big part of our mission at CPP is letting those in prison know that their lives matter and that there are people who want to bring them an experience of joy.

Our volunteers help us to do that in many ways. For example, one volunteer got pistachios donated for the prison residents to enjoy during our recent presentation of the Compassion Trauma Circle and Trauma Talks at Valley State Prison.

“We heard multiple times how long it’s been since someone had a pistachio,” says CPP organizer Morgan Vicki Emmess. For prison residents, seemingly small things that we take for granted can be incredibly meaningful and deeply joyful.

“A correctional officer came in and announced abruptly that any food was to be consumed in this room only and couldn’t be taken back with them,” Emmess recounts. “It was a reality check for us volunteers for sure. The food issue is huge.”

“On one visit to Pelican Bay, we had pizza, and they had not had pizza in 7 years,” recalls volunteer Lesa Lacey. “There was a crazy buzz in the room.” She added, “After having just one state lunch, I can see why.”

Another favorite part of bringing the Compassion Trauma Circles and Trauma Talks to prisons is the camp songs we sing together. While many of us remember singing around a campfire as a kid, most people in prison never had the opportunity to go to summer camp, so it’s the first time they’ve ever sung silly songs together. People who experienced childhood trauma often missed the chance to have a real childhood. Instead, they were stuck in survival mode from a very young age.

According to data from the National Institute of Health, more than half of male prisoners experienced abuse, neglect, or other types of trauma at a young age. Through our Compassion Trauma Circles, Trauma Talks and other programs, CPP helps the incarcerated, corrections officers, and staff better understand the long-term mental and physical effects of childhood trauma.

One of our biggest allies, California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, joined us for one of our Circles at Valley State Prison. She spent the day speaking one-on-one with each person about their aspirations, concerns, and favorite superheroes.

“I see myself as Deadpool,” one participant told the group. “I love helping people, but I find myself doing it in an unconventional way. I am that guy who lends the ear.”

“What you’re describing is just being present for somebody,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. “That’s the greatest gift that you can give most people, just show up and listen.”

Simply put, small actions go a long way. Most people in prison want nothing more than to be heard and acknowledged for their intrinsic value. If you want to help us remind those in prison that they matter, learn how you can become a pen pal or support CPP.

Watch some of our volunteers talk about what brought them joy during our trip to Valley State Prison:

The post CPP Volunteers Remind The Incarcerated That They Matter appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

A Celebration of Willie B. Smith

Morgan Emmess — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 14:50:51 +0000

by Rune Marie Nielsen, intro by Melonie McCoy

“My favorite pie is sweet potato, and I remember how I used to lick the bowl. You (CPP) all constantly remind me that I’m loved, that I’m forgiven, that I am somebody. This type of love is like giving me the sweet potato bowl to lick… this type of compassion is like a mother’s love.” Willie B. Smith III, who frequently exchanges heartfelt, insightful letters with volunteers, staff and especially volunteer Nora here at CPP, is scheduled to be executed on the 21st of this month.

CPP volunteer and artist, Rune Marie Nielsen, recently captivated us by finding Willie’s true light, kind heart and humble character within this beautiful portrait. As Rune explains, she wanted to capture Willie radiating the confidence and peace that CPP volunteers and staff see in him. CPP is working to help end the archaic practice of capital punishment which is rooted in slavery, class division and is historically an off-shoot of lynching.

Painting a portrait is like having a conversation with that person, but without using words. You get to know them better with each layer of paint. The ‘conversation’ begins with looking at their photo and finding emotions they express. Personality is shown in even the most simplest of portraits. Aspects such as how wide a person opens their mouth when they smile, if they are looking up at the viewer or away from the viewer, or even the arc of their eyebrows can convey a lot about them as a unique individual.

In Willie’s case, his posture and expression in the photo show a lot of sincerity, friendliness, and humility. He’s looking at the viewer in earnest, unafraid to show his genuine self. His smile is reserved a bit, showing perhaps a bit of shyness, but also kindness and caring, as though he wants to be friends with whomever he meets. In his photo, Willie’s eyes are partially closed and he’s stooped down a bit as he looks up at the viewer, which suggests a lot of humility but also some lack of confidence, which I see commonly in photos of people who care deeply about others at the expense of their own confidence. In the painting, I wanted to give Willie the confidence that we at CPP see in him. We are fully confident in his wonderful self, the Willie that deserves compassion and dignity. Therefore, in the painting his posture is more confident, being on a equal level with the viewer rather than hunched back, and his eyes are opened wider. This is the confident Willie we see in him, and we hope that he can see this confident Willie within himself.

I paint in acrylics, which require several layers for each painting. The first layers of a painting are always blurry because the paint is still thin and still acclimating to the canvas. These layers are like the soul that comes before the body. They are the steps of basic humanity, as something is appearing on canvas from darker tones to lighter ones (unlike some other forms of painting, acrylics are applied with darker tones first and lighter ones later). A person becomes more and more defined with each layer, revealing their uniqueness. When it is time to match a person’s features with their photo, there will always be some indicators that the painting is its own likeness. I emphasize expression in portraits, which means that sometimes I make eyes larger or lips less toned in order for the viewer to notice the expression first and foremost before noticing tiny details. Willie may not know me well, only having heard from me through a letter I sent him, but I feel like I have gotten to know Willie well through painting this portrait.

I could tell from Willie’s photo and the description of him that he was a person with so much light to give to this world. His light is something that radiates to others, so it felt natural to make the background of the painting a glowing yellow.

I wanted to paint Willie the way I do for every person I paint: as a dynamic and meaningful person of emotion who has so much to share with the world. I did not want to focus on the crimes he was tried for or his upcoming death sentence because those things do not define Willie. This portrait is a celebration of who he is, a person of love and life.

For more information about Rune and her work, please visit her website at runepainter.com

The post A Celebration of Willie B. Smith appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

Compassion Prison Project goes to Valley State Prison

Morgan Emmess — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 15:52:20 +0000

by Morgan Vicki Emmess

I flew into LAX on Sunday, September 5th, preparing myself for what would become one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had. The following day, six of us piled into a 12-person van stocked full of supplies and were on our way to pilot our 12-part curriculum series, Trauma Talks, at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California just outside of Madera where we would be staying for the next three nights.

During this visit, we also gave a presentation to the Corrections Officers and staff about the devastating effects of childhood trauma and how it could be impacting their health. Our mission is to create trauma-informed prisons and communities and we can’t do that without addressing childhood trauma on both sides of the bars.

Our dream at CPP is that all prisons in the United States become education and healing centres within 3 years. With 98% of people in prison returning home to us, do we not want them to be thriving members of our community? These are our brothers, sisters and neighbors. The recidivism rate in the United States is 64%, meaning that those people are stuck in the pattern of committing crimes instead of learning from them. More importantly… why they committed them in the first place. Trauma Talks educates about our physiology as human beings, what happens to our brains and bodies when we are in a state of fight, flight or freeze (when we are under threat), and with a focus on Adverse Childhood Experiences, teaches people that what happened to them while they were growing up has a direct effect on how they behave as adults today.

This is life changing information and we witnessed that happening as one volunteer put it… within hours. Many of the men we met while at Valley State Prison were abused as children, grew up in the foster care system and had to survive from a very young age. A lot of them had no one to love them, no one to take care of them or teach them right from wrong. It is no wonder many found refuge in gangs as they became like family and satisfied the needs to belong and fit in as a child. They were kids left to “figure it out” on their own and find their way at a very young age, literally doing all they can to survive in the streets… Imagine, having to live a life where you can’t rest because you never feel safe. Imagine what that does to your nervous system and biology over time.

Each story was terribly tragic but beautiful in it’s own right. Beautiful because each pain can be a catalyst for positive change and that is what these amazing men are doing… using their pain to help people. I was blown away by the amount of (really good) advice that was given to me by these men who are doing all they can to give back. And I believe we were all blown away by how many incredible ideas they had for helping foster youth, crime prevention and bridging the gap to the communities they once hurt. We are working with a group of 24 mentors who will be facilitating Trauma Talks to their yard and the 2900 men living at Valley State Prison, including groups of 18-25 year olds also taking part in the California Youth Offender program. We will be returning with a similar program for Corrections Officers and staff.

The feedback we received as the men were reading through their workbooks makes everything we do here at CPP worth it. Seeing people’s eyes fill with hope instead of sadness as they learn about their trauma over these few days was the best feeling, and I know the volunteers who joined us from near and far, donating their time, money and energy to be there would agree.

On the final day we were honored to be joined by the California Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. She stood in front of these men and told them that “Gavin Newson sent me here today”. She told them they mattered and they listened. She dedicated time to each individual shaking his hand and asking his name, with such grace and compassion that some of these men have never felt. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris spent half the day with these men speaking with them and answering any questions they may have. There was one man who at the beginning of the day had no hope for himself, but by the end of the day and after an intimate conversation with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, he was recording testimonials to help youth in our communities.

It was a transformative experience. Now don’t get me wrong. Our program is not designed to dismiss the wrongs that people have done, but it is designed to inform people of the science behind why they behaved the way they did. The room was ripe with hope as men who didn’t know they had experienced some form of childhood trauma slowly realized that they weren’t the monsters people had made them out to be. They were traumatized and made mistakes and now, with this knowledge, they have answers and an opportunity to heal and become thriving members of society.

Love filled the room. We talked, we played and we cried. Three days was not enough. But in those three days we saw change happen. And now, all 2900 men who are living there have their own copy of the Trauma Talks workbook thanks to a generous donation CPP received. Now, they can learn something about themselves for the first time.

To witness the wisdom and hope in these men living at Valley State Prison has only fuelled our motivation and determination to get Trauma Talks into all prisons and stat. Because to us it is imperative that each and every man and woman living in prison knows we see them and that they matter. I cannot wait to go back. For more information about our Trauma Talks program, contact info@compassionprisonproject.org

Watch the story from Spectrum News 1 in LA:

The post Compassion Prison Project goes to Valley State Prison appeared first on Compassion Prison Project.

Home - Compassion Prison Project

Three Prisons in 2 Weeks – CPP Goes Inside

CPP goes to the U.K.

Trauma and the Brain

There are three parts of the brain to look at…

The Brainstem

The Amygdala

When a threat is perceived and the amygdala, or fear center, gets switched on — we react in one of three ways: fight, flight or freeze.

The Cortex and the Prefrontal Cortex

Here’s how these three brain parts work together when faced with a traumatic event:

This is the key... Getting to the CORTEX.

Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails

An Unrecognized Problem

What is known about TBI and related problems in prisons and jails?

How do TBI-related problems affect prisoners with TBI and others during incarceration?

What is needed to address the problem of TBI in jails and prisons?

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Affects Everyone. We have created this TBI Awareness Campaign so you can understand the effects of TBI as well as the symptoms and begin to find healing from this injury that may have happened when you were a child or teenager.

Definitions of TBI:

Leading causes of brain injuries:

The impact of a traumatic brain injury on an individual’s level of functioning afterward depends on the following:

TBI Symptoms

According to the CDC:

Dr. Kim Gorgens explains Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Watch: Brain Injuries and Crime – The Startling Connection with Neuropsychologist Dr. Kim Gorgens

Effects of a traumatic brain injury can include:

TBI is associated with an increased risk for irritability, temper outbursts and decreased self control in addition to cognitive problems such as attention and memory. Five years after a severe brain injury, 64% were described as having a bad temper and 54% threatened violence.

Supporting incarcerated individuals with TBI

Challenges which are unique to the prison setting arise for incarcerated individuals with a TBI. These challenges may include:

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

“BDNF is like Miracle Gro for the brain.”— Dr. Kim Gorgens, Neuropsychologist

Summary

Prisons are a Public-Safety Hazard

Solitary Confinement:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI):

Inadequate Mental Health Treatment:

Mental Health Issues for Correctional Officers and Staff:

Demoralizing restrictions, slavery, fines, fees, inedible food and taxing the poor:

Scant education and self-help programming:

What is the Source of our Sorrow? CPP Volunteers Share their Hearts with the Incarcerated

What is trauma?

Take the ACE Test

Trauma and the Brain

Recognizing Trauma

Healing is Possible

Watch some of our volunteers talk about the heartbreak they experienced while at Valley State Prison…

CPP Volunteers Remind The Incarcerated That They Matter

When was the last time someone told you that you mattered? For many incarcerated people, it’s something they likely haven’t heard in a long time, if ever.

In addition to educating and providing resources, a big part of our mission at CPP is letting those in prison know that their lives matter and that there are people who want to bring them an experience of joy.

“We heard multiple times how long it’s been since someone had a pistachio,” says CPP organizer Morgan Vicki Emmess. For prison residents, seemingly small things that we take for granted can be incredibly meaningful and deeply joyful.

“A correctional officer came in and announced abruptly that any food was to be consumed in this room only and couldn’t be taken back with them,” Emmess recounts. “It was a reality check for us volunteers for sure. The food issue is huge.”

“On one visit to Pelican Bay, we had pizza, and they had not had pizza in 7 years,” recalls volunteer Lesa Lacey. “There was a crazy buzz in the room.” She added, “After having just one state lunch, I can see why.”

“I see myself as Deadpool,” one participant told the group. “I love helping people, but I find myself doing it in an unconventional way. I am that guy who lends the ear.”

“What you’re describing is just being present for somebody,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. “That’s the greatest gift that you can give most people, just show up and listen.”

Watch some of our volunteers talk about what brought them joy during our trip to Valley State Prison:

A Celebration of Willie B. Smith

Compassion Prison Project goes to Valley State Prison

“BDNF is like Miracle Gro for the brain.”
— Dr. Kim Gorgens, Neuropsychologist