A fascinating radio program on Christopher Lydon's "Open Source."
Entitled Black Men in America: Behind the Numbers, Stories from the Street, it was part of a longer series called "Black Men in Crisis." It gives a full and very informed picture of life on the streets and in prison for today's black men. Check out the link:Black Men in Crisis

What is in the News:
This past February the Boston Globe printed an article entitled I�m tired of having to watch my back (written as spoken, with no capitals). This article gives a very vivid picture of what it is like for an average teenager to grow up in Roxbury. These teens have all lost family and friends to violence. The murder victims are disproportionately young, make, and black. The article gives no solutions but its stark but engaged realism is about as close as you can come to the situation, without being on the street yourself. Copies are available on request. Email me with your address at:tamlin@comcast.net

What is in the News: 1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars
The government reported on May 21, 2006 that the number of people behind bars has increased significantly in the last 9 years. By the summer of 2005, there were almost 2.2 million people, or 1 in every l36, in jails and state and federal prisons. There are several reasons for this. One is that the jail population (which has increased the most) is increasingly unconvicted. Beck, chief of corrections statistics at the Bureau of Justice Statistics, says that Judges are perhaps more reluctant to release people pretrial. Marc Mauer, executive direct of The Sentencing Project (which supports alternatives to prison), criticized sentencing guidelines. He said judges should freer to convict at their own discretion. He added that arrests for drug and parole violations are also responsible for the rise in inmates and that if we want to see prison population reduced, we need a much more comprehensive approach to sentencing and drug policy. The above information was gathered from an Associated Press article found on the web. The article is available on request.For more information, contact Tam Neville at tamlin@comcast.net

June 2nd Annual Workshop for Probation Officers and Facilitators
Save the date! This coming June 2nd we will have our annual workshop for probation officers and facilitators.Titled: One Ray in the Rainbow .We hope to look at CLTL in a larger context of changing demographics and rehabilitation opportunities. Probationer officers will lead the morning panel. We want facilitators to come away from the workshop knowing more about where their clients are coming from and what rehabilitation possibilities are available to them. This gathering at Henderson House should let us explore some of the issues we often cannot get into our larger training sessions. IN the afternoon we will discuss the nature of story. PLEASE SAVE THE DATE.

SAVE THE DATE!
This coming June 2nd will be our annual facilitator/probation officer training.

FINDING A VOICE
The Practice of Changing Lives Through Literature, written by co-directors Jean Trounstine and Bob Waxler, came out last Fall from University of Michigan Press.

New Start-up Programs Out-of-State:
Dave Hawkins reports that they have a program up and running in Chesapeake, Va. Diane Suddes reports that they are on the verge of starting a juvenile program in Florida. From Lebanon, Indiana we have this news from Patty Gates: A 12-week trial book discussion group began in the fall of 2005 at the New Life Men's Shelter and will have its final session in March when Certificates of Participation will be presented to six participants. Other classes will be beginning soon.

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Previous Events

Changing Lives Through Literature Conference

Save the Date for CLTL's Third Annual Facilitator/PO Workshop
Date: Friday, June 10, 2005
Time: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Place: Henderson House, Weston, MA
For more information, contact Tam Neville at tamlin@comcast.net

Changing Lives Through Literature CD-Rom

More than 18 months of development effort has recently culminated in a CD-Rom created to promote and spread the word about the new CLTL web site. More than 800 packages were sent out nationally. To receive a CD-Rom, which includes a review of the web site and other CLTL materials, e-mail for information: cltl@umassd.edu.