The Prison Monastery
The Prison Monastery is an initiative of Unconditional Freedom (501c3)
The word penitentiary comes from penitence — a place of contemplation, of turning inward, of making meaning from what was broken. Somewhere along the way, it became something else entirely. The Prison Monastery is the project of returning it to its original purpose.
The Prison Monastery launched in February 2023 at two correctional facilities — Mendocino County Jail in Northern California and Central California Women's Facility — with programming for both incarcerated residents and correctional officers.
At California's Central California Women's Facility — the largest women's prison in the country — the Prison Monastery targeted Housing Unit 509, a security-challenged unit with minimal programming, and set about transforming its culture into that of a monastery: a space for contemplation, reflection, and ultimately, contribution.
What the Numbers Show
The Art of Soulmaking curriculum — a "monastery in a book" offering meditation, yoga, and a path to convert pain and darkness into creativity — is now active in over 1,500 facilities across 48 states, reaching more than 250,000 incarcerated participants. Seven percent of the entire US death row population has enrolled.
Over 250,000 incarcerated individuals engaged through Prison Monastery digital content via digital tablets across 1,500+ facilities in 48 states.
Prison Monastery digital content is now active in over 1,500 facilities across 48 states.
7% of the entire US death row population has enrolled in the Art of Soulmaking correspondence program.
