Q2 Inmate Newsletter June 2026

JUNE 2026 | NEWSLETTER

James Mcleary, PRB Graduate & Felix Mickens

IC COMMUNITY PRACTITIONER‌

FIRE KEEPERS CORNER

NO WARNING ‌S HOTS

See page 2‌‌ Meet Martha Preble

See page 4 A Moment of Reflection

See page 5‌ Solano’s Community Event

PROGRAMMATIC UPDATES:

&

In New York, Project Restore Bed-Stuy and Project Restore Brownsville have now transitioned into the facilitation planning stage for Project Restore Flatbush. As the work continues to expand across neighborhoods, we are continuing to train the cohort while also utilizing graduates from Project Restore Bed-Stuy as co-training participants in Project Restore Brownsville. This peer-led development model continues to strengthen the work from within the communities themselves.‌ ‌What we are witnessing is the natural snowball effect of the process: every cohort builds new leaders, every neighborhood strengthens the next, and the capacity for healing and facilitation grows with each cycle of engagement.‌‌ ‌Our next programmatic update com‌es from Memphis, Tennessee, at Shelby County Jail. Led by Al and Guido‌ Lewis, the Memphis cohort continues to demonstrate remarkable consistency and commitment. After two years of‌ ongoing work, the program has become a regular and dependable circle-based healing space within the facility. The‌ continuity of the work has helped establish trust, accountability, and meaningful opportunities for emotional‌ healing and growth.‌ ‌In addition to the ongoing circles, we are beginning to deepen engagement with sheriff’s staff and institutional‌ stakeholders, strengthening collaboration around the broader impact of the work. Looking ahead, we are preparing‌ to expand further into the correctional environment, with plans to begin work within the juvenile justice system‌ during the next quarter. As always, we remain grateful for the facilitators, participants, organizational partners, and‌ institutional supporters who continue helping carry this work forward.

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IC Community Practitioner Partner As an experienced facilitator and jewelry artist, Martha’s mission is to “bring light to the world through creating beauty and connection”. After many years of supporting women on their healing journeys (as a leader, facilitator, and mentor in an international women’s organization), she now finds deep fulfillment serving as facilitator for both men and women at Inside/Outside Circle Intensives. Her wide range of life experiences and challenges has earned her a broad perspective and wisdom. Martha is passionate about contributing to the Inside/Outside community (and world!) by helping folks connect deeply with themselves, their truth, and their paths to healing.

Her profound empathy for others' suffering and challenges has shaped her lifelong commitment to the art of attentive listening.

Martha’s compassionate feminine presence is steady, grounded, and powerful, bringing balance, safety, and clarity to our circles.

She will “go there” with you and stay with you

Martha Preble

until you find what you need.

INSIDE CIRCLE TAKES THE STAGE At the upcoming Giffords Center for Violence Intervention Community Violence Intervention Conference, Eldra Jackson III and Aaron Burris of Inside Circle will present on the main stage as part of the growing national conversation around violence intervention and public safety. Their presentation centers on a core belief: violence cannot be understood only through crime and enforcement, but also through unresolved trauma, chronic stress, survival conditioning, and emotional disconnection within impacted communities.

Drawing from years of work in New York City, New Jersey, Memphis, Dallas, and California, they will explore how healing-centered engagement and restorative practices can interrupt cycles of retaliation, fear, and violence before they escalate.

The presentation reflects Inside Circle’s broader mission to position emotional healing and relational restoration as essential tools for violence reduction. Through healing circles, mentorship, accountability work, and emotional processing, Inside Circle is helping pioneer approaches that address the internal conditions often driving violence beneath the surface.

As the field of community violence intervention evolves, Eldra and Aaron hope to contribute to a growing movement that recognizes healing not as secondary to public safety, but as central to it.

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INSIDE CIRCLE: HELP SPREAD THE WORD While there will be more resources to share once the healing home opens. A number of our community members have requested resources to share with their family and friends.

Currently, open to the public Inside Circle offers weekly virtual circles led by Rick & Heather, a monthly podcast led by Eldra and quarterly outside circles guided by Dragon Clan Elders.

Please help spread the word. Insidecircle.org

Free Weekly Mon & WEd Virtual Circles: Register at https://insidecircle.org/events/

M o n t h ly P o d c a s t o n S p o t i f y & A p p l e M u s i c : E l d r a J a c k s o n I I I

Bay Area Outdside Cirlces: Full Scholarships are available at https://insidecircle.org/events/

HEALING HOME COMING SOON

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firekeepers corner

‌ ‌There comes a moment in doing time when a person has to ask a hard question: Am I only surviving this environment, or am I learning how to live within it?‌ Most people enter prison carrying far more than a sentence. We carry grief, rage, shame, abandonment, fear, and stories about ourselves written long before the cell door closed. For many, prison did not create the pain — it simply removed the distractions that once helped us outrun it.........That is why emotional healing matters.‌ ‌Healing work, circles, accountability, and honest connection are not luxuries inside these walls. They are survival tools for the spirit. A person can be physically confined and still discover an inner freedom no institution can take away. The walls are real. The time is real.

But suffering grows when we allow the environment to define our entire inner life. The institution may control movement and physical freedom, but it does not have to control meaning, purpose, or spiritual direction......This is also how change begins moving outward into the world.‌ ‌There is a difference between being in prison and living imprisoned. One is physical. The other becomes emotional, mental, and spiritual. Circles and healing spaces matter because they interrupt isolation. They challenge the stories trauma taught us to believe. They remind us that numbness is not peace, anger is not strength, and emotional shutdown is not freedom. Healing asks us to honestly examine what shaped us and imagine something beyond it.‌ ‌When a person sincerely commits to healing, something begins to change. Not instantly, but steadily. The way they speak changes. The way they listen changes. Possibility begins showing up where hopelessness once lived.‌ ‌The world responds differently to people who are no longer at war with themselves.‌ For those serving time, this work is not about denying the realities of prison. It is about reclaiming authorship over the inner self. Refusing to let trauma or bitterness become the final identity. Healing is not weakness......it is strength.‌ ‌Many people wait for freedom before they begin living differently. But real transformation often begins long before the gate opens. Some leave prison physically while remaining emotionally incarcerated. Others begin freeing themselves internally years before they walk outside........The Invitation Is always to treat each circle like it could be your last. Participate honestly. Sit with discomfort instead of running from it. Speak truthfully. Listen deeply.

Allow yourself to imagine a version of life that is not completely dictated by your wounds.

Because healing is not just about feeling better. It is about becoming free enough internally that, when opportunity arrives, you are capable of receiving it.

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A celebration of Recovery & Reform I n s i d e C i r c l e h a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o at t e n d C S P Solano’s community event this past April, o r g a n i z e d b y t h e N o W a r n i n g S h o t g r o u p.

T h e e v e n t c a r r i e d a t r u e s p i r i t o f c o m m u n i t y, c o l l a b o r at i o n , a n d c r e at i v i t y, b r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r a number of CSP-Solano–based groups alongside o r g a n i z at i o n s f r o m t h e o u t s i d e c o m m u n i t y. T h e d ay w a s f i l l e d w i t h c r a f t s , r e s o u r c e s , f o o d , music, and connection.

O n d i s p l ay w a s a n i n c r e d i b l e r a n g e o f c r a f t s m a n s h i p a n d a r t i s t i c ta l e n t f r o m t h e c r e at i v e m i n d s c o l l e c t i v e . i n c l u d i n g h a n d m a d e c l o c k s , c r o c h e t e d m a s t e r p i e c e s , d e ta i l e d m o d e l ships, classic cars and planes, paintings, handp a i n t e d h at s , a n d c u s t o m s k at e b o a r d d e c k s . T h e F r e s n o S k at e b o a r d S a lv a g e P r o j e c t w a s a l s o i n the house, showcasing their hand-painted s k at e b o a r d d e c k c o l l e c t i o n a n d s p e a k i n g f r o m the stage as guest presenters. The creati vi ty and level of arti stry throughout the event was truly remarkable. Beyond t he artwork, there were numerous resource-based groups hosti ng i nformati on booths, pool tables, and food stati ons that encouraged connecti on and conversati on. The enti re event was set agai nst the backdrop of a li ve musi cal performance featuri ng No Warni ng Shots, solo performances and spoken word poetry. The musi c brought an upli fti ng and posi ti ve energy that felt somewhere between a block party and an i nti mate concert venue.

One of the most powerful parts of the day was si mply looki ng around the room and seei ng staff and i ncarcerated men comi ng together wi th smi les, conversati on, laughter, and heads boppi n’ to the musi c. I t was a heartfelt event that celebrated arti sti c expressi on, human connecti on, and the shared desi re to create a prosoci al envi ronment that supports the wellbei ng of both staff and i nmates ali ke.

A bi g thank you to the CSP-Solano admi ni strati on, CSp-SOlano men I n blue and all of the event organi zers for helpi ng pi oneer such a meani ngful and i nspi ri ng communi ty event.

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Writing from Inside - Circle

LOVING POTENTIAL‌‌

By Manny Moreno (SCC)

SHOW ME A GREATER POTENTIAL IN CREATOR THAN THE EXCELLENT GROWTH AND MATURITY OF A SEED PLANTED IN A FERTILE PLAIN WHERE THE BEAUTY OF TRANSFORMATION TAKES ITS FORM. A NUTRIENT RICH ENVIRONMENT OF FLUIDITY AND ATOMIC MATTER FOR THE PERFECTION OF TIME TO FORM LOVE, THE ESSENCE OF FORMS, BIRTHS, TIME SHAPING THE CREATION WITH ITS INTANGIBLE VALUE, TO SHAPE ITS FORM.

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SHARING YOUR VOICE We believe it is important for the outside community to hear your voice.

We've highlighted quotes from the words you sent us and shared on our social media under the title #VoicesFromTheInside. We've also highlighted quotes from the meditations and poems from the Folsom Prison Daybook.

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Bridging Circles Pen Pal Program Program Guidelines Inside Circle has been building an Outside Circle community over the last few years supporting women and men from the street - a.k.a the un-incarcerated - on personal growth journeys in the same way we’ve supported you men behind bars for over 20 years. We all need to check-in with a community. We all need to be heard. We all need to know we have not been forgotten. They have medicine to share and need to feel that they can be of service to others, to you. Can you reflect on your life and share a part of yourself, your medicine, on paper? Can you check-in by hand?

We have a beautiful community of people that would love to write to you. In order to participate in the program, we ask that you understand and respect the following guidelines: Pen pals are only allowed to send you letters, they are not allowed to send you gifts, money, packages etc…

Pen pals are not allowed to contact anyone on your behalf such as friends, family, lawyers, or judges.

This is a pen pal service, not a dating service. Please respect your and your pen pal's boundaries.

Pen pals are instructed to preserve their anonymity and to keep communications confidential. In turn, we ask that you respect their anonymity and keep their communications to you confidential.

Pen pals are advised to check their judgments and be open to the background of others, and we ask the same of you.

Pen pals are encouraged to not pry into places in your life that you do not wish to share, we ask that you show the same respect.

If you find these guidelines agreeable, we ask that you please fill out the attached form, sign your name, and return it to us at the following address: Inside circle, 2443 Fillmore St. #380-4123, San Francisco, CA 94115.

This will assist us in moving the process along to match you with a pen pal. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for holding the light strong.

If you have already completed this form, you are on our waiting list.

Full name: ____________________________________________________________________________________ CDC Number: ________________________________

Date of Birth:____________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________ Are you trained in Victim Offender Dialogue?

Yes

___________________________________________ Participant Signature

No

___________________________________________ Date Signed

INSIDE CIRCLE | 2443 FILLMORE ST. #380-4123 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115 WWW.INSIDECIRCLE.ORG

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INFO CARD

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND MAIL THIS BACK IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED.

FIRST NAME: ________________MIDDLE NAME:___________LAST NAME:________________________ MAILING ADDRESS:________________________________________________________________ CDCR#: ________________ D.O.B:___________CLASSIFICATION SCORE:________HOUSING LEVEL:_______ # OF SERIOUS/VIOLENT 115’S...before joining group: _________and #after joining group: _____________?

HOW LONG DID YOU SIT IN GROUP?___________ARE YOU CURRENTLY MENTORING OR FACILITATING? (Y/N) _________

UE

TR

OF

RY VE

RT

TR

SO

T NO

SINCE STARTING GROUP WITH INSIDE CIRCLE...

UE

SURVEY

TR

UE

WOULD YOU SIT IN GROUP AGAIN IF ABLE? (Y/N) _______ ARE YOU INTERESTED IN STARTING A GROUP? (Y/N) _______

I AM BETTER ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND MANAGE MY EMOTIONS............................

I AM BETTER ABLE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACTIONS.........................

I BELIEVE MY LIFE HAS A PURPOSE..............................................................

I AM MORE CONNECTED TO SOMETHING GREATER THAN MYSELF.........................

I FEEL LESS ALONE...................................................................................

I FEEL I AM WORTH SOMETHING...................................................................

I BELIEVE THAT LIFE HAS VALUE.................................................................

I AM BETTER ABLE TO COPE WITH STRESS.....................................................

I AM MORE IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE AND ACTIONS.........................................

I AM BETTER ABLE TO PUT MYSELF IN OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES AND SEE THEIR SIDE OF THINGS.........................................................................................

I AM MORE CONFIDENT IN MY ABILITY TO OVERCOME ADVERSITY.......................

BELOW IS SPACE FOR YOU TO CHECK IN AND SHARE HOW YOU'RE DOING PHYSICALLY, INTELLECTUALLY, EMOTIONALLY, AND SPIRITUALLY. THERE'S ROOM FOR MORE ON THE BACK.

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CHECK-IN (CONTINUED) IF YOU HAVE ANY POEMS TO SHARE OR WORDS THAT HAVE MOVED YOU LATELY, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR THEM AND INCLUDE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER.

JUNE 2026

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