LEAKESVILLE — Several incarcerated men at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution recently graduated from the Compassion Prison Project’s Trauma Talks program, completing a 16-part curriculum designed to address underlying issues that can contribute to incarceration, officials said.
Officials said participants studied the effects of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, and learned tools to help regulate their nervous systems, challenge self-limiting beliefs and build empathy for themselves and others. The Trauma Talks curriculum was founded by Fritzi Horstman and uses educational videos, interactive workbooks and peer-led group discussions to encourage accountability and vulnerability among participants.
South Mississippi Correctional Institution houses nearly 3,000 inmates, and officials said the program offers an important opportunity for men there to break cycles of violence and prepare for successful reentry into their communities. Adverse childhood experiences are traumatic events in childhood that researchers have linked to later health and behavioral risks, and programs that address those experiences aim to reduce recidivism and improve institutional safety.
“When people realize their inherent value, they don’t just transform themselves; they create a ripple effect that makes the entire prison environment safer,” a Compassion Prison Project representative said. Officials said the graduation is the latest example of the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ stated focus on rehabilitation and reentry efforts.
