Rise and Reform

For the last few days, we have been collectively mourning the loss of the great Dolly Parton. By all accounts, she was an amazing human being, and an absolute icon. She brought people together in a way we don’t really see celebrities do too often. 

I wanted to talk specifically about how her legacy has probably changed the landscape of prison reform with a couple of really key examples. 

One example is how her music career has impacted us all. Music has the power to support mental health and bring people together. I’ve written a lot about how The Pros and Cons Program is using music to support inmates in prison, but it can seriously impact people outside of prison, too. 

Another example is how she has sent over 5 million books to children across the world. One of my first blog posts was about the Remission for Reading program in Brazil. I spoke a little bit about how books, and more broadly, education and literacy can lower the recidivism rate. The Imagination Library has inspired millions of children to find joy in reading. 

My final (and probably favourite) example occurred in the 1990’s when Dolly promised a class of 7 and 8 graders that if they graduated, they would each receive $500. As a result, the dropout rate went from 35% to only 6%. 

All of the examples I just listed, creating community through music, providing books to school children, and lowering dropout rates, are all really great examples of crime prevention. Dolly Parton was a truly incredible person. I am honoured to have lived in the same timeline as her.

If you would like to read more about prison reform and inmate rehabilitation, hit that subscribe button. See you next Tuesday!