HEPI hosts in-person programming at SCI Greene, including semesterly creative writing workshops and book clubs, and supports peer-led programming. Students have created and maintained a writing studio, an end-of-life advocacy program, a peer mentoring program, and more.
Explore our programs:
- Creative Writing Workshops
- Book Clubs
- Greene Writing Studio
- Peer-Led Programming
- Darrin Lester Scholarship
Creative Writing Workshops
HEPI hosts non-credit-bearing creative writing courses with incarcerated students at a prison in Pennsylvania.
American fiction writer and essayist Dr. Ann Pancake hosts creative writing workshops with inside students each semester. Students in creative writing workshops have the opportunity to create and revise works of both fiction and nonfiction while participating in feedback cycles with their peers and receiving guidance from Dr. Pancake.
Students have self published work as a result of their participation in creative writing workshops and report an increased sense of worth and confidence after participation.
Book Clubs
In partnership with the the Appalachian Prison Book Project and the West Virginia University Department of English, we create book clubs and facilitate creative writing workshops in prisons.
Book clubs provide incarcerated individuals with an opportunity to read, discuss, and write about literature. Since 2014, 75 imprisoned women, 25 imprisoned men, and 27 volunteers have participated in the book clubs.
"Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was by favorite book from Book Club. I was surprised by how good it was. The story was captivatingly told in a manner that allowed you to experience the protagonist’s struggles. Her awkwardness in dealing with others and her tenacity and fortitude, which were the foundational cornerstones of her character, paled only to the vivaciousness in which she took to acquiring knowledge through the two most alluring resources we have at our disposal: learning and reading. It was a really good read and an exquisite tutorial on how to build an endearing character." —Melvin
Each club includes 12 to 15 incarcerated members and 3 to 5 outside facilitators, and they typically meet once every two weeks for two hours. Participants read fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, chosen by all the members. Facilitators also lead creative writing workshops in poetry or other forms of creative expression.
Learn More about the Book Clubs
Greene Writing Studio
Similar to the on-campus Eberly Writing Studio, HEPI students host a writing studio at SCI Greene to assist their peers in their writing efforts.
WVU offers a teaching practicum course, WRIT 490, to prepare students to become tutors at the Writing Studio. Like on-campus students who take this course, students at SCI Greene are equipped to tutor peers in developing and strengthening their own writing (structurally, mechanically, and grammatically) in a variety of technical and professional styles and forms, such as cover letters, resumes, memos, and articles.
The Writing Studio in the prison, like the on-campus Writing Studio, is a resource where students can seek help with projects at any stage in the writing process. Tutors are also prepared to assist with reading comprehension and preparation for the GED. The Writing Studio provides job training and ongoing professional development opportunities to peer tutors.
Peer-Led Programming
Often as a result of HEPI courses, students organize programming at the prison, including a peer-led mentorship program and an end-of-life advocacy program.
Many HEPI courses, especially Inside-Out courses, ask students to create proposals for programming at the prison. Students sometimes pursue these proposals after the class ends and successfully create new opportunities for themselves and their peers.
Students in an Inside-Out English course proposed a peer-led mentorship program for their final group project. Participants in the mentorship program completed training with a facilitator from the WVU Purpose Center. Mentors reflected on their personal values, strengths, motivations, goals, and leadership styles and learned techniques that build rapport and trust. The mentors developed an additional curriculum to teach these new methods of thinking to mentees in the program.
The Compassionate Advocacy Program emerged from a WVU Inside-Out Criminology course. Participants completed a death doula training course that provided detailed instruction on how to offer compassionate care to people with chronic illness or those nearing death. Trained advocates assist people in the Medical Unit by providing companionship and helping with access to books, letter-writing, and art materials.
"We envision becoming voices for those who are suffering and hope that we can help to make the end of their lives more comfortable." —Todd
Students have also worked to create a podcast, a gardening program, and improved vocational programming.
Plentiful creative writing and art have also been created in WVU programming, which appears in the organization newsletter, the on-campus office, and on the website with permission from students.
Darrin Lester Scholarship
HEPI and the Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP) co-offer the Darrin Lester Scholarship to justice-impacted people in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania hoping to continue their education.
Darrin Lester, a late friend and reentry coordinator for HEPI, once said, “The purpose of HEPI is not rehabilitation but transformation. We believe education is essential for that process to have any real meaning." In this spirit, HEPI and APBP offer the Darrin Lester Scholarship. Darrin was awarded the scholarship, then named the APBP scholarship, in 2021.
Darrin co-founded Olive Tree, a powerful peer education program that continues to shape the lives of people incarcerated in West Virginia, and was passionate about HEPI's mission. He worked tirelessly to support his community. "As someone who has spent close to 30 years in and out of prison, I can attest that we do better when we know better. That better can only be realized through critical and analytical thought. It helps us to see the world around us through a different perspective. More importantly it allows us to see ourselves and our potential in a new light. I can’t becomes, I can.”