CHEFA Awards $400,000 Enterprise Capital Grant to Freedom Reads to Grow Reach and Impact in Connecticut Prisons
Support will enable Hamden, Connecticut-based non-profit Freedom Reads to open more Freedom Libraries in more Connecticut prisons as it works to ensure that every incarcerated person in the state has access; Launch event at 10 am on April 29 at Freedom Reads Headquarters in Hamden, Conn.
Freedom Reads Opens Freedom Libraries in Colorado Prison
National non-profit Freedom Reads returns to Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility, home of one of the first Freedom Libraries
Prison Tour for Inaugural Inside Literary Prize, the First Major US Book Prize Judged Exclusively by Incarcerated People, Begins Today
Tour of 12 prisons in six states to include literary performances and readings by renowned poets and writers, while hundreds of incarcerated judges vote on the four finalist titles; Winner to be announced in June 2024
Freedom Reads Returns to Open Additional Freedom Libraries in Virginia Prisons
National non-profit Freedom Reads opens 32 Freedom Libraries at Dillwyn Correctional Center and Buckingham Correctional Center; Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts performs his one-man show FELON: An American Washi Tale.
Freedom Reads Brings Literary Presentation to Men’s and Women’s Prisons in Rhode Island
In its first events in Rhode Island prisons, national non-profit Freedom Reads brings literary dialogue to the John J. Moran Medium Security Facility and the Gloria McDonald Women’s Facility in Rhode Island
Freedom Libraries Open at Maryland Youth and Adult Detention and Correctional Facilities
National non-profit Freedom Reads opens Freedom Libraries at Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, and Dorsey Run Correctional Facility; literary performances presented at three youth detention facilities
Freedom Libraries Open at Massachusetts Prison
National Non-Profit Freedom Reads Returns to MCI-Norfolk, home of the first Freedom Library
Freedom Reads, National Book Foundation, Center for Justice Innovation Launch First Major US Book Prize to Be Judged Exclusively by Incarcerated People
Inaugural “Inside Literary Prize” will send a selection of National Book Award honorees to hundreds of incarcerated people in a dozen prisons across the country; Inside Literary Prize winner to be announced in June 2024
Freedom Libraries Opened in Connecticut Correctional Institution
National Non-Profit Freedom Reads Returns to Carl Robinson Correctional Institution and Opens 15 Freedom Libraries
Freedom Libraries Opened in Otisville Correctional Facility
National Non-Profit Freedom Reads Returns to Otisville Correctional Facility, Announces Opening of 200th Freedom Library Nationwide
Freedom Libraries to Open in Maine State Prison
Freedom Libraries, conceived by Reginald Dwayne Betts, former prisoner-turned-acclaimed-poet, open at maximum security facility in Warren, Maine
Freedom Reads Partners With the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) to Empower Youth Through Literature
Freedom Library conceived by Reginald Dwayne Betts, former prisoner-turned-acclaimed-poet, opens at DYS' Edward J. Loughran Memorial Library in Dorchester, Massachusetts