Giving Back – Prison Mindfulness Institute

This month we are highlighting The Prison Mindfulness Institute, whose mission is to provide prisoners, prison staff, and volunteers with effective, evidence-based tools for rehabilitation, self-transformation, and personal development, using proven mindfulness-based interventions. The higher aspiration is to transform the correction system as a whole in order to mitigate its destructive impact on families, community, and society.

I have met and befriended the founder, Fleet Maull, whose own story has taken him through the penal system serving 14 years for drug smuggling, so he knows the inside and outside challenges that inmates face. Fleet also founded the National Prison Hospice Association and developed the Path of Freedom program for training in mindfulness meditation, emotional intelligence, communication, conflict resolution, and resiliency building skills. As a volunteer at San Quentin Prison, I totally understand the need for programs like these and Dharma will continue to support Fleet’s efforts. (Jeff Marcous, CEO)