our Impact
“Freedom dreams are born when we face harsh conditions not with despair, but with the deep knowledge that these conditions will change…Freedom dreaming starts with asking questions, often the same questions, over and over, allowing ourselves to get deeper each time.”
–Tourmaline
Freedom Side is a visionary project to intervene in cycles of incarceration and trauma and sow the seeds of healing and transformation. At Freedom Side we ask:
What happens when we start from the beginning?
What happens when the wild, other-worldly ideas of young people are taken seriously?
What might they be able to imagine?
What happens when children are given the love, time, space, and resources they need to treat one another with compassion, care, and collective responsibility?
Who do those children become?
What does the world become?
Freedom Side’s long-term impact spans beyond the walls of the classroom. Freedom Side School is designed to grow the next generation of movement leaders and healing justice practitioners. Freedom Side Commons resources the broader community of educators, organizers, and family members in the work of building a more free world.
Mass incarceration funnels millions of parents and caregivers into the prison system. Funding cuts, the school to prison pipeline, and attacks on education at the federal and local levels are harming children in general and children with incarcerated loved ones in particular.
Freedom Side helps break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. Approximately 2.7 million children in the U.S. have a parent in prison or jail. Studies have shown that incarceration of care-givers has a negative impact on the mental and behavioral health of children. Children of incarcerated parents are more likely to become incarcerated themselves in adulthood.
Studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents have increased risk of mental health and behavioral issues and are more likely to themselves be incarcerated in adulthood. Incarceration destabilizes families both economically and psychologically, and children often face economic precarity and social stigma. At FSS, we can create a supportive educational environment that is equipped to address the unique challenges faced by children impacted by incarceration.
Freedom Side facilitates parental involvement behind bars. The prison system places severe barriers on parental involvement in their child’s life. But research consistently shows that maintaining strong, positive connections with family and community helps reduce recidivism for currently incarcerated people and improves the wellbeing of their children. The Freedom Side model supports connections between children and their incarcerated loved ones and allows incarcerated parents to play an active role in their children’s education.
Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration
Young people are inheriting a world full of unprecedented challenges, from climate catastrophe and mass displacement to rising authoritarianism and attacks on education at every level. Educators have a responsibility and obligation to teach about oppression and injustice honestly, and to care for students as they navigate difficult truths. At Freedom Side, young people are supported to think critically about the issues that affect their lives.
Children are creative problem solvers who are naturally oriented towards justice and fairness. Educators can and should help them harness these talents so children can create the world they want to live in. At Freedom Side, we give children the tools they need to address challenges and build a more free world.
An abolitionist education means learning together how to address conflicts and repair harms big and small. This means teaching and modeling healthy conflict resolution, restorative practices, and healing justice. At Freedom Side, classrooms are spaces where we learn and practice collective care.
