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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UNLIKELY COLLABORATORS AWARDS SPARK GRANT TO SUPPORT TRAUMA-INFORMED MINDFULNESS PRACTICES
LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unlikely Collaborators has awarded a Spark grant to fund an innovative collaboration between Crim Fitness Foundation and Prison Yoga Project to support From Inside Out: Transforming Justice Through Mindfulness, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at sparking systemic change within the Genesee County justice system. Phase One of this project will strengthen the existing partnership between the Crim and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, enhancing the weekly mindfulness programming offered to incarcerated individuals through I.G.N.I.T.E.® (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education). This first phase includes a new collaboration with the Prison Yoga Project to train the Crim team in evidence-based, trauma-informed mindfulness practices tailored to the needs of incarcerated populations, as well as providing the Prison Yoga Project's Mindfulness Immersion Curriculum to the Crim's existing program. By equipping participants with tools for emotional regulation, stress reduction, and self-awareness, the initiative seeks to shift perceptions and promote healing from within the jail environment. The first phase will run throughout 2025 and lay the foundation for future phases that will expand mindfulness programming to include re-entry workers and correctional officers. The goal is to build a more compassionate and conscious justice system from the inside out. It is important to note that this project is not a research study and that incarcerated individuals are in no way being used as research subjects. Rather, participation is voluntary and focused solely on supporting personal growth and emotional well-being. Unlikely Collaborators' sister organizations, Tiny Blue Dot and Unlikely Collaborators Foundation, have previously supported both the Crim and Prison Yoga Project. The Spark grants, launched in 2024, support bold, collaborative projects that integrate the Perception BoxTM lens to reimagine narratives and create meaningful change. Each grant prioritizes 501(c)(3) partnerships between organizations and individuals who have not worked together before, fostering innovation and unexpected synergy. Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit organization, founded and chaired by Elizabeth R. Koch, dedicated to fostering transformative storytelling, developing human connection, and resolving internal conflict. UC's perspective is that external conflict is the direct result of unconscious, unresolved internal conflict inside each and every one of us. Founded on the belief that the way we perceive the world is highly subjective, Unlikely Collaborators supports projects that challenge assumptions, spark meaningful dialogue, and invite humans into deeper self-awareness – in community. Central to this mission is the groundbreaking Perception Box framework developed by Koch. More than just a metaphor, it represents the often unseen matrix of biases, beliefs, and personal narratives that influence how we interpret reality. Rooted in cognitive science and psychological research, this framework illustrates how each person's unique mental model shapes their understanding of the world—often limiting their ability to connect with new perspectives and ideas. By investigating and untangling our Perception Box beliefs, individuals and communities can unlock compassion, creativity, and new ways of thinking. "This support from Unlikely Collaborators allows us to deepen our commitment to the well-being and growth of individuals impacted by the justice system," said Ka'Sella Matière, Mindfulness Coordinator at the Crim. "By integrating the Perception Box framework with our trauma-informed mindfulness practices, we're not just teaching tools for stress reduction — we're inviting people to shift how they see themselves and their potential. That's the first step toward real transformation." "We're honored to partner with the Crim and bring our experience into such a visionary initiative," said Nicole Hellthaler, Executive Director of Prison Yoga Project. "Our work is rooted in the understanding that healing begins with self-awareness. This project offers a meaningful opportunity for incarcerated individuals to access that healing, through embodied movement practices, while also challenging the systems and perceptions that often stand in the way of compassion and change." "The only way to change the prison system is to address the Perception Box limitations of everyone in the system," said Koch. "And that's exactly what this spark between the Crim Fitness Foundation and Prison Yoga Project aims to do - turn the focus away from the punishment model and toward one of healing, so everyone from inmates to correction officers to re-entry workers can come alive into their full potential." The Crim is a participant in the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation's neuroscientific research projects related to "The Science of Perception Box," having been awarded funding of a study being conducted with Brown University and Mindful Badge. Titled Courageous Connection: Changing Perceptions and Reducing Bias by Building Mindful Awareness and Compassionate Relationships among Police and Black Community Members, the project aims to address the broken trust and violent encounters between police officers and Black community members in the United States, by developing mindfulness-based interventions for both police officers and Black community members. Unlikely Collaborators Foundation awarded Prison Yoga Project a grant to support Prison Yoga Project initiatives through 2026, including a wellness program for correctional staff and others working across the justice system - such as judges, officers, and treatment professionals - who are impacted by secondary trauma, and the development of a youth graphic novel designed to bring accessible, trauma-sensitive yoga practices into juvenile detention settings and diversion programs. For more information on the Crim, please visit for more information on Prison Yoga Project, please visit and for more information about Unlikely Collaborators, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Unlikely Collaborators Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New jail program to help inmates with reintegration
COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Russell County Sheriff's Office is unveiling a new program that aims to prepare inmates for life after release. I.G.N.I.T.E., or Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education program, is an educational and rehabilitation initiative providing inmates with opportunities to earn credits toward a GED, learn skilled trades through virtual reality, and participate in enrichment courses such as financial literacy. 'We are excited to be launching this important program that will reduce recidivism, send people back to the community more equipped, and be better citizens,' said Sheriff Heath Taylor. 'I heard from IGNITE Sheriffs across the country that the program makes for a more peaceful productive jail, both for those that are incarcerated and the staff that protects them.' The program, which originated in Michigan, spans 21 counties across the country. According to the National Sheriff's Association, the program also strives to inspire positive change inside the jail and set inmates on a more constructive path forward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Genesee County Sheriff announces campaign for governor
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson is expected to formally announce his candidacy for governor Thursday at around 5:30 p.m., which you can watch live on this page. A potential bid for governor has been in Swanson's orbit for . Current Governor Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Although his team would not confirm his plans at the time, Swanson's planned announcement follows current announced bid last week. Additionally, current will run as an independent, and will be running for the Republican Party nomination. Former Attorney General Mike Cox, also a Republican, has also filed paperwork allowing him to run, although he has not announced a bid for the office just yet. Swanson was first appointed sheriff in 2019 before winning the seat in 2020. He has been with the Genesee County Sheriff's Department—the fifth largest in the state—since 2011. According to his biography, Swanson has almost three decades of law enforcement experience and in various positions including corrections, criminal investigations, human trafficking, and narcotics. He has both a bachelor's and master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan. The biography says that Swanson helped put together the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (G.H.O.S.T.) in 2018, which focuses on human trafficking and criminal sexual conduct. After becoming Sheriff in 2020, he also founded a program to allow inmates in Genesee County Jail to go to school two hours a day, five days a week to assist with finding employment after release called Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally through Education (I.G.N.I.T.E.). Also in 2020, during a period of nationwide unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd, Swanson gained by taking off his helmet and joining a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in a march in Flint. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
