Overview of Project Rebound
The mission of Project Rebound is to support the higher education and successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated people through the mentorship and living example of other formerly incarcerated students, graduates, faculty, and staff. Project Rebound constructs life‐affirming alternatives to the revolving door policies of mass incarceration by making higher education more accessible and supportive of formerly incarcerated students so that they can acquire the knowledge and skills of a university education, enhance their capacity for civic engagement and community leadership, secure meaningful and gratifying employment, empower themselves and their families, and ultimately make stronger, safer communities.
Who Project Rebound Serves
For decades, society has relied on incarceration to address various social problems. However, increased incarceration has not made communities safer. Project Rebound aims to build a prison-to-school pipeline. We work to connect with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people through various outreach efforts, including presenting within prisons and other carceral spaces and maintaining regular correspondence with people inside to guide their educational paths; holding monthly education related workshops with organizations that work directly with people transitioning out of prison and into society; collaborating with community college programs that work with formerly incarcerated students; and carrying out in-reach efforts at CSUN so that current students that are formerly incarcerated become aware of and connect with Project Rebound. While our focus is on people with histories of incarceration, our efforts have significance for the larger community. Access to education increases life opportunities for these individuals, which reduces recidivism and helps to create healthier communities.
How Rebound Scholars Benefit from Donor Support
In order to be academically successful, students need to have their basic needs met. Support for Project Rebound allows us to provide resources necessary to ensure that our students, Rebound Scholars, have safe and secure housing that is conducive to higher education learning, have access to sufficient food, have access to reliable transportation, support with child care needs, and books and schools supplies. Your gifts ensure that Rebound Scholars have a strong foundation for academic success.
