Choose Love in Corrections

Choose Love in Corrections offers Character Social Emotional Development (CSED), integrated with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to meet the needs and varied learning styles of those who are incarcerated.

Corrections

The Goal of This Program:

To teach learners essential life skills, to assist with self-regulation/ self-management, relationship skills, handling adversity, and the ability to reflect on their own growth and development.

Choose Love is committed to uplifting the lives of all those involved in the Department of Corrections.

The New Hampshire Department of Corrections (NHDOC) took the bold step in the Fall of 2021 to pilot Choose Love programming to improve residents’ relationships with each other, their families, and communities to better prepare them for reentry.

The program has run four times to date at the women’s and men’s facilities in New Hampshire and is expanding with waiting lists for participation.

An outcome we are particularly excited about is the elevation of the conversations inmates are now having with their families holding the promise to further elevate outcomes upon release and with future generations.

The program includes:

  • Kickoff session led by Scarlet Lewis, founder of Choose Love
  • 6-12-week program for residents (15 in the men’s workshops and 15 in the women’s)
  • Incarcerated residents were trained to lead and facilitate the sessions with their peers
  • 1.5 day pre-training for correctional officers and staff
  • Ongoing guidance and assistance for administrative staff
  • Observation of and regular feedback to facilitators
  • Created adaptations for use in transitional housing
  • Graduation ceremony with keynote from Scarlet Lewis

 

Program at a Glance:

  • Peer-facilitators and staff mentors receive training prior to the classes commencing
  • The curriculum is designed to offer an in-depth program using a developmental circle structure
  • Peer facilitators meet with staff mentors on a weekly basis to prepare, for approximately 1.5 hours
  • Weekly classes are 2 hours
  • This program offers autonomy, where peer facilitators can choose what lessons they would like to deliver.
  • There is currently a total of 23 weekly lessons offered, co-designed by Choose Love, CAST (UDL), and residents inside both male and female prisons. (Facilities have done anything from 14 lessons to all of the lessons due to not wanting to stop.)
  • Class sizes: What has worked well in the NH DOC: 2 simultaneous classes, each with up to 10 residents.
  • A culture is created based off the Choose Love formula: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action
  • A graduation/recognition ceremony is offered at the end should the facility choose to celebrate

CAST Partners with New Hampshire Prisons to Apply UDL to “Choose Love” Curriculum

Check out this article on www.cast.org – talking about the partnership between CAST and Choose Love in creating powerful programs for correctional facilities.

Nicholas Duffy, Director of Rehabilitation Services for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, knew the value Choose Love could bring to those incarcerated in New Hampshire’s prison facilities, but needed help adjusting the curriculum to be flexible and barrier-free for adult learners with diverse backgrounds, skills, and educational experiences. After working with CAST on other projects, Duffy says his request was met with enthusiasm.

“We’ve sort of skipped over teaching social emotional learning as a society,” Duffy says. “We assume people have these skills, however I have sat in on the Choose Love Trainings and have learned from it every time. Participants learn growth mindset and how their body reacts to different situations, how to apologize, how to forgive. Learning these skills is extremely important.

Read more …

Testimonials

“Choose Love has taught me I can correct myself in a positive way, where I came into prison hating myself. It helped me have more appreciation towards life.”

“Choose Love has taught me I can correct myself in a positive way, where I came into prison hating myself. It helped me have more appreciation towards life.”

“Choose Love has taught me I can correct myself in a positive way, where I came into prison hating myself. It helped me have more appreciation towards life.”

“Choose Love has taught me I can correct myself in a positive way, where I came into prison hating myself. It helped me have more appreciation towards life.”

“It taught me forgiveness of others and forgiving myself, which was so hard to do, but also love, compassion, understanding, and taking responsibility. I’ve hurt many people and also got hurt by many people, and I’ve forgiven them and myself. It touched me deep within. I’ve also learned to celebrate life instead of mourning it. I just wish I had learned all this before...”

“We would like to recognize Mr. Holmes for embracing the Choose Love program and maintaining his dedication to bringing this opportunity to the men’s prison here in Concord. All of us here today appreciate the investment that (he) has made in us and are sincerely appreciative to be part of this Movement.”

“We would like to thank Ms. Lewis. Your foundational principals of Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Compassion in Action have spawned a whole generation of children, and now residents in correctional facilities, who are being taught and reminded that we do have a choice.”

“...Your example of what can rise out of choosing love is inspiring and has made us all recalibrate our minds and hearts. We now pause and step back, asking ourselves, what happened to someone instead of asking what’s wrong with them.”

“Truly forgiving someone is an incredibly powerful and freeing action. We have learned to embrace this way of thinking and let go of the toxic anger, frustration, and the Choose Love Movement has had a profound effect on how we process our feelings.”

“Throughout my life, I have had a very difficult time showing and speaking about my emotions, which then led to debilitating issues like depression, anxiety and resentment. This course reminded me of the importance of truly feeling these emotions for what they are has left me feeling a little more comfortable opening up and making myself vulnerable to exhibit my emotions.”

“Choose Love has taught us to be grateful and self-aware. Being grateful has been a struggle for some but when embraced, it has positive ripple effects that ultimately lead to positive outcomes.”

“Choosing love is always the best option when faced with a difficult or challenging situation. The power of love and forgiveness are unmistakable.”

“Choose Love opened my eyes to be more positive, to forgive myself, to listen to others, and to be more self-aware of how your actions affect you and others around you.”

“It has helped me to realize that most of us, regardless of our crimes, are carrying similar weight and this group helped us all by allowing us to open up, console, and nurture each other in a way I have never experienced. I hope this program continues to change lives the way it has changed mine.”

“The Choose Love Movement is the most influential group that I have been a part of during my fifteen years of incarceration. Going forward, I intend to practice these concepts (courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion) and make them a part of my everyday life. My hope is that course is spread throughout the prison, teaching the masses that Choosing Love is so much easier than choosing violence, and in doing so we all benefit. This prison can be the change in which we seek. It’s up to us to continue spreading the Choose Love ways.”

“It has changed the way I handle controversy and made the world seem a little brighter, being able to see the good in people. Understanding that most people are not their situation- they are human, have different outlooks, and come from different background - but that doesn’t mean we can’t get to know and care for others.”

"We chose Choose Love because Scarlett Lewis’ message is so profoundly aligned to the students we serve within our correctional system… The men and women who have participated in the program state that it is “life changing.” It is an educational opportunity that has altered their mindset toward the possible and the positive."

Helen Hanks

New Hampshire Commissioner of Corrections

Choose Love in Corrections – New Hampshire Video

Choose Love in Corrections – Inaugural Graduation Video

Choose Love is pleased to be partnering with CAST in serving the Corrections population. CAST is a multifaceted organization with a singular ambition to break the barriers to learning that millions of people experience every day by applying leading-edge practices to educational design and implementation.

Interested in Learning More?

The Choose Love Movement and CAST are currently seeking partners to expand on the initial findings and success of the program, bringing it to other sites and states. For more information please contact Shannon Desilets, at Shannon.M.Desilets@dhhs.nh.gov

Shannon is the Governor-appointed Program Director of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement for the state of New Hampshire.