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Impact

Uniquely Postioned

  • Lived-experience leadership, real impact. Our work is guided by people who’ve been directly impacted by the criminal legal system—bringing unmatched credibility, insight, and the ability to create reforms that last.

  • A holistic model for safer communities. We don’t focus on a single moment in someone’s journey. We support prevention, rehabilitation, empowerment, civic participation, and safe spaces where people can grow, heal, and lead.

  • Trusted partners across New York City. We collaborate with NYC agencies and community stakeholders to bridge prisons, neighborhoods, and public officials—strengthening collective action and shared accountability.

  • Culturally responsive programs that build leaders. Through education, mentorship, and storytelling, we help participants develop emotional literacy, strengthen identity, and transform lived experience into leadership.

  • Storytelling that shifts culture. We bring deep multi-media experience—live presentations, docuseries, books, podcasts, and film—to elevate human stories, change narratives, and move communities toward solutions.

Voices In Motion

Building Identity, Emotional Literacy, and Leadership for the Next Generation

Voices in Motion is a two-phase, school-based CHOICES curriculum that equips NYC youth with the tools to understand themselves, manage emotions, and make wiser decisions. 

Grounded in culturally responsive teaching and mentorship, the program uses storytelling, project-based learning, and community leadership activities to help students build confidence, strengthen identity, and interrupt cycles of harm before they begin. Youth leave with the skills to lead—at home, at school, and in their communities.

(Youth Development, Grades 6–12)

Voices Inside

Transforming Lived Experience Into Leadership Beyond the Walls
KENYATTA HUGHES

Kenyatta Hughes is a founding member of Voices From Within and a singer, songwriter, and activist who spent more than two decades incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

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TYRONE ABRAHAM

Tyrone Abraham (also known as Colin Absolam) is a founding member of Voices From Within and a justice-impacted leader who spent 25 years in New York State prisons, much of that time at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. 

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DARIO PEÑA

Dario Peña is a founding member of Voices From Within and a graduate of Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he spent 17 years and helped build the project from inside the prison walls. 

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CARLOS HERRING

Carlos Herring is one of the featured “Voices” in the Voices From Within Project, his theme is “Voices Dedicated To Change”

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GARY BENLOSS

Gary Benloss is a featured storyteller (“Voice”) in the Voices From Within project, including an episode of the Wrongful Conviction podcast that notes his release after about 22.5 years in prison.

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LAWRENCE BARTLEY

Lawrence Bartley is a founding member of Voices From Within and a justice-focused journalist who spent 27 years incarcerated in New York State prisons, including Sing Sing Correctional Facility. 

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JULIAN CASTILLO

Julian Castillo is a formerly incarcerated co-founder of Voices From Within and one of the original men who helped shape the project inside Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

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LARON ROGERS

Laron Rogers is a founding member of Voices From Within and a credible messenger whose advocacy against gun violence began while he was serving a 25-years-to-life sentence at Sing Sing Correctional Facility

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Voices Inside delivers intensive, trauma-informed CHOICES workshops inside New York State correctional facilities—supporting personal healing, accountability, and purpose-driven transformation. 

Participants develop emotional intelligence, leadership skills, and strategic reintegration plans that strengthen families and reduce recidivism. Through storytelling, mentorship, and community-connection experiences, incarcerated adults evolve from isolated individuals into emerging leaders prepared to contribute meaningfully the moment they return home.