Things began with a small group of incarcerated men serving life sentences who began exploring what restorative justice means.
Mission
To encourage healing and accountability by facilitating restorative dialogue between those responsible for harm and those who have experienced harm.
Vision
To challenge and change the way that individuals, the legal system, and communities respond to harm by encouraging survivor-centered, lived-experience-led, community-based responses to harm.
History
TPP was founded in 2013 in MCI-Norfolk, Massachusetts’ largest prison which houses the nation’s oldest population of men serving life sentences.. After a particularly violent incident in which the youngest man in the prison almost lost his life, a group of men serving life sentences took action and began to facilitate restorative justice (RJ) circles. Utilizing the indigenous practice of RJ, circle participants began to explore themes of harm, healing, and accountability. The impact on the participants and the prison community was transformative. They partnered with community volunteers to launch what is now the Transformational Prison Project, or TPP.
As influencers inside the walls, TPP’s progress and championing of RJ work encouraged others to join as well. Before long, RJ had expanded throughout 6 Massachusetts prisons, serving 1,000+ incarcerated people every year.
In 2019, our leaders began to come home after incarceration. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we had to determine how TPP would thrive on the outside. We learned quickly that RJ’s healing powers expand beyond carceral settings and began to run circles and instill RJ practice across communities, courtrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, and everywhere in between.
Today, TPP is led by three formerly incarcerated individuals who are living proof of RJ’s positive impact. TPP provides RJ programming in institutions and in the community. We also engage with various sectors (e.g., healthcare, higher education, etc.) to educate and create meaningful narrative and policy change. We work tirelessly to bring this transformative healing to everyone who we possibly can.
As influencers inside the walls, TPP’s progress and championing of RJ work encouraged others to join as well. Before long, RJ had expanded throughout 6 Massachusetts prisons, serving 1,000+ incarcerated people every year.
In 2019, our leaders began to come home after incarceration. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we had to determine how TPP would thrive on the outside. We learned quickly that RJ’s healing powers expand beyond carceral settings and began to run circles and instill RJ practice across communities, courtrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, and everywhere in between.
Today, TPP is led by three formerly incarcerated individuals who are living proof of RJ’s positive impact. TPP provides RJ programming in institutions and in the community. We also engage with various sectors (e.g., healthcare, higher education, etc.) to educate and create meaningful narrative and policy change. We work tirelessly to bring this transformative healing to everyone who we possibly can.