Event and Film at San Quentin to Support Vulnerable Children

I'm helping Back to the Start raise funds for a first-of-its-kind event at San Quentin State Prison highlighting stories, poems, and perspectives from those behind bars to galvanize support for systemic change.

We’re bringing together 350 invited guests at San Quentin, including policy makers, health leaders, philanthropists, prison officials, and system-impacted individuals. We’re also partnering with Sundance Film Festival and Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker, Jacob Kornbluth, to produce a short film of the event.

About Back to the Start

Back to the Start produces stories written by the incarcerated about their own childhoods, highlighting the critical need to support vulnerable families and children upstream to prevent downstream system failures, like mass incarceration. Back to the Start believes in the power of authentic stories to break down the legacy of our nation’s systemic and racial inequities starting at birth. Using writing and storytelling to share the childhood stories of our incarcerated program participants, Back to the Start’s trauma-informed program is helping reshape the public narrative by giving voice to those who didn’t get the support they needed to thrive in childhood. The non-profit was founded by the former Chief Physician of the California prison system, Dr. Jenny Espinoza, and co-led by incarcerated writers and journalists at San Quentin State Prison.

Three-in-One Event: Commencement + Storytelling Showcase + Impact Film, Winter 2024

Program participants will share readings of their hard-hitting and touching writings - personal narratives and poems telling powerful stories of incarcerated adults who were once young children living at the intersection of poverty, trauma, and systemic racism. To reach audiences outside the prison, a short film of the event will be directed by Jacob Kornbluth, a Sundance Film Festival and Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker.

“Working at San Quentin State Prison, I had the opportunity to get to know patients over several years, and kept hearing the same stories about growing up in environments filled with trauma, violence, and/or poverty. I eventually realized that in order to fundamentally improve outcomes for my patients in prison, we really need to delve deeper than treating symptoms and illnesses and do something to address the cycle of systemic and health inequities that got them there in the first place. These stories need to get out to humanize and break down these issues for the general public and policy makers to see the missed opportunities and how we can do better.”

— Jenny Espinoza, MD

Fundraising goal:

We are grateful for local philanthropic sponsorships, and are in need of $35,000 to cover the remaining costs of the unique half-day event and accompanying film aimed at seeing our common humanity and driving transformation, from the inside out.

Please spread the word and forward this fundraising campaign to anyone in your network who might be interested in contributing.

Back to the Start is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, fiscally sponsored by Empowerment Works, Inc.