Writers in Residence

Mission and Vision 

Writers in Residence teaches creative writing to youth who are incarcerated to empower their voices and assist in their re-entry into society. The organization strives to reduce the recidivism rates of its residents and to participate in the transformation of the juvenile justice system. Writers in Residence fulfills its mission and vision by valuing justice, empowerment, relationships, dignity, and community.

Organizational History 

Writers in Residence started as a student-run organization in 2017 at John Carroll University. A group of undergraduates facilitated Creative Writing Workshops (CWWs) at local juvenile facilities in Cuyahoga County. By 2018, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards c/o The Cleveland Foundation supported one of the co-founders to replicate the organization’s program model at more juvenile facilities and academic institutions that Writers in Residence calls a cohort.
Writers in Residence launched 4 cohorts in 2019, facilitating at least 100 workshops and publishing close to 250 pieces of original poetry and prose in over 1,400 chapbooks. The organization distributes these chapbooks inside juvenile facilities, on campuses, and throughout the nearby community at local businesses to raise awareness about the juvenile justice system through the art that residents produce. 

Writers in Residence became incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2020. The organization partners with almost 15 juvenile facilities and colleges/universities throughout Ohio to fulfill its mission and vision. To date, Writers in Residence has empowered about 2,000+ residents in 300+ workshops and printed more than 3,000 chapbooks filled with 1,300+ creative writing artifacts.  The Cuyahoga County Detention Center has the largest number of residents attending our CWWs. Their works are showcased at public events at community partner locations such as Visible Voice Books, Loganberry Books, Case Western Reserve University, and John Carroll University.

In addition to its CWWs, Writers in Residence launched its Reentry Mentorship Initiative (RMI) at the beginning of 2022, creating a pipeline program model.

The RMI runs in tandem with the CWWs to match residents with positive, consistent, and supportive adults in their communities who mentor the youth for 12-18 months while they return and remain home. The mentors assist their mentees to achieve goals that they designed to prevent their involvement with the justice system and reduce their recidivism rate. Ultimately, the mentors maintain complete confidentiality of their mentorship, so their mentees feel comfortable and safe enough to learn life skills, build their self-esteem, and develop a genuine, strong, and long-lasting relationship with their mentor.

As the only organization of its kind in the state, Writers in Residence’s CWWs offer a marginalized population the space, time, and skills to rewrite their narrative while its RMI serves the same youth before and after their release to construct a different path away from incarceration.