Get involved

Take Action

Community is built one person at a time. Good changes happen by taking action even with a small step. Harmony is created with more than one voice. So be part of it! Here are some excellent organizations that you can get involved with. Or look up local prison programs in your town!


Listen, Lend Your Voice, Lend Your Help

Start where the film starts — with the people who make it happen.

Support Reentry Directly

Music opens a door. These organizations help people walk all the way through it — into housing, jobs, and community.

  • alvis180.org

    A Central Ohio nonprofit that has provided reentry housing, workforce development, and case management since 1966. Volunteer opportunities include GED tutoring, writing cards for clients, and hosting personal-care-item drives.

  • linkagecommunity.org

    A Michigan-based, member-driven network of artists with lived experience of incarceration. Grew out of the University of Michigan's Prison Creative Arts Project to support formerly incarcerated creatives through mentorship, exhibitions, and peer navigation.

For Artists, Musicians & Practitioners

If this film sparked an idea — a workshop, a choir, a research question — these are the people already doing that work.

  • oac.ohio.gov

    The state agency that funds arts access across Ohio, including programs bringing music, theater, and visual art into Ohio prisons.

  • chorusamerica.org

    The national advocacy and resource organization for choruses of every kind, including programs like Harmony Project.

  • rta-arts.org

    Runs dance, theater, music, and writing programs across 8 correctional facilities and a reentry program for alumni. Their work inspired the film Sing Sing.

  • shakespearebehindbars.org

    The oldest continuously operating prison theater program in North America, using Shakespeare's plays to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people build life skills for reintegration.

  • thejusticeartscoalition.org

    Unites teaching artists, arts advocates, and currently/formerly incarcerated artists nationwide. Maintains one of the largest online collections of artwork by incarcerated artists.

  • anotherchoicenyc.org/the-confined-arts

    A New York-based arts organization and the coalition it spearheads, uniting artists, arts organizations, and justice practitioners to advance criminal justice reform through the arts.

  • williamjamesassociation.org

    Has brought exceptional artists into California prisons since 1977 through its Prison Arts Project, serving thousands of incarcerated men, women, and youth.

  • ahjnetwork.org

    An interdisciplinary collaborative providing arts programming for incarcerated youth in California, working to build resiliency and transform the juvenile justice system.

  • creativeprisons.org

    Works to engage more incarcerated people in creating art, protect their intellectual property, and help share their work with the public.

  • prisonartscollective.com/pac

    A university-prison partnership headquartered at San Diego State University, providing multidisciplinary arts programming across California state prisons.

  • artsinprison.org

    A Kansas-based organization providing performing arts, visual arts, writing, and choir programs — including the East Hill Singers — in state prisons to reduce recidivism.

  • warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/research/ijan

    A global collective based at the University of Warwick, connecting artists, practitioners, and researchers working at the intersection of arts and justice.

  • freerrecords.com

    The first record label in the United States built for musicians who are currently or formerly incarcerated, building their careers and getting their work heard.

  • jailguitardoors.org

    Provides instruments and songwriting workshops inside correctional facilities, using music-making to support rehabilitation and reentry.

  • artscapacity.org

    Brings interactive concerts and live music by professional composers into correctional facilities to foster reflection, connection, and successful reintegration.

  • cfa.fsu.edu/aati

    A Florida State University institute connecting artists, art therapists, educators, and incarcerated people to expand access to art therapy and research nationwide.

  • imajincaringcommunities.com

    The International Music and Justice Inquiry Network — a global community of researchers and practitioners who meet monthly to share practices in music-making inside prisons.

  • earhustlesq.com

    A Pulitzer-finalist podcast created inside San Quentin, sharing stories of daily life in prison and after release, told by those who lived it.

  • ala.org

    A nationwide project led by the San Francisco Public Library and the American Library Association, building library and digital-literacy services for people who are incarcerated or reentering their communities.

  • puffinfoundation.org

    A family foundation funding artists and arts organizations, especially those working on social justice and often excluded from mainstream opportunities. Has supported justice-impacted artists directly.

Learn & Advocate

Want to engage with the system itself? These organizations research, litigate, and bring people together to get involved in effective and impactful ways.

  • representjustice.org

    Turns storytelling — including documentary film — into criminal justice advocacy, building the capacity of system-impacted communities to tell their own stories.

  • vera.org

    A national research and policy organization working to end mass incarceration through research, litigation support, and direct partnerships with government.

  • sentencingproject.org

    A Washington, D.C. research and advocacy organization working to reduce sentencing disparities and promote alternatives to incarceration since 1986.

  • aclu.org/issues/prisoners-rights

    The ACLU's ongoing work to protect the constitutional and human rights of incarcerated people nationwide.

  • impactjustice.org

    Works to prevent people from entering the criminal legal system, improve conditions for those incarcerated, and support successful reentry.

  • antirecidivism.org

    A Los Angeles-based support network and policy advocate for formerly incarcerated people, working to reduce incarceration and build healthier communities.

  • prisonfellowship.org

    A national organization serving incarcerated people, returning citizens, and their families through in-prison programs and advocacy for a more restorative justice system.

  • prisonpolicy.org

    Produces the research and data — including its widely cited "mass incarceration" reports — that shapes public understanding of the U.S. criminal legal system.

  • promiseofjustice.org

    A New Orleans-based legal organization combining litigation, organizing, and advocacy for people incarcerated across Louisiana.

  • ficpfm.org

    A national network of over 50 civil and human rights organizations led by people with conviction histories and their families, organizing for policy change.

  • ohiojpc.org

    A nonprofit law firm with offices in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, providing free legal representation and policy advocacy for Ohioans affected by incarceration.

  • themarshallproject.org

    A nonpartisan nonprofit newsroom covering the U.S. criminal justice system, including a dedicated Ohio and Cleveland bureau.

  • ohtransformationfund.org

    A collaborative fund of national and local funders working to reduce the number of Ohioans incarcerated and advance policy change across the state.

  • thejusttrust.org

    A grantmaking initiative scaling and aligning resources across the criminal justice reform advocacy ecosystem nationwide, supporting bipartisan reform efforts.

Listing here is not a formal endorsement or partnership with SOMEBODY TO LEAN ON. Please confirm each organization's current volunteer, donation, and involvement opportunities directly on their website before taking action.

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