Listening at Phoenix Prison

“For myself and those like me who may suffer and may experience loss daily – there is no Justice if we are not willing to listen.  And remember, listening is not just limited to hearing.  To listen is to be conscious; to listen is to be awake; it is to open yourself to greater compassion."

-Inside Core Team Member

The JUST Listening Prison program was developed at the request of the Lifers, Inc. organization at SCI Graterford, now Phoenix, following a JUST Listening training there in 2013. In order to address the specific needs and realities of listening in a maximum security prison, the entire curriculum and ongoing training process has been developed collaboratively with a Core Team consisting of both inside and outside members. Over 400 men residing in the prison have been trained and provided with ongoing skills development. In the summer of 2024, training was expanded to also include resident Hospice and Certified Peer Support specialists to deepen their listening skills. 

The Core Team, composed of both inside and outside members, is innovative and adaptive, creatively responding to emergent issues and circumstances in an effort to enlarge the peaceful presence of skilled listeners throughout the prison. During Covid lockdown, for example, the Core Team collaboratively wrote and published a document.  “Strategies and Tips for Incarcerated Persons: How To Thrive During Covid 19.” This informative and helpful article was distributed widely throughout the prison by both the chaplaincy office and library, and also published for the public at large with the thought that the authors are experts on how to survive and thrive amidst lockdowns. 

To support ongoing skills deepening and engagement with this transformative work, a Listening library of twenty-five volumes was assembled in the prison library. Since the Covid Pandemic, Phoenix prison has been divided into and functions as two separate institutions, East and West Sides. We are duplicating the training program on both sides and are hoping to also recreate the library holdings so that both sides have access to these informative and life-changing resources.

Inside members of the Core Team also contributed to a collaborative book published in 2024: The Little Book of Listening: Listening as a Radical Act of Love, Justice, Healing, and Transformation.  All participants in the full day JUST Listening training are provided with a copy of this book.

Read more about the program in this article: “Can Radical Listening Transform Prison Culture? One Pennsylvania Institution Is Finding Out.” By Samantha Melamed, The Philadelphia Inquirer November 9, 2019. That article may be viewed here.