Partakers Newsletter

Spring 2026

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"I got my voice through Partakers. Partakeres empowered me to excel at a level I thought I couldn't achieve."

~Partakers Grad/TA

Dear Friends,

After an endless winter, we have at long last turned the corner to Spring. We hope this finds you and yours well, heading outside to do something other than shoveling!, and that you enjoyed the Spring holiday season.

Despite these often overwhelming and challenging times, we at Partakers are greeting the new season with action and opportunities to build on our almost 30-year legacy of fostering relationships that change lives.

The other day, I was reminded once again how, once you are involved with Partakers, you remain connected, and your view of incarceration and what YOU can do to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by the carceral system changes forever. A wonderful, heartfelt email from a long-time Mentor demonstrated again the lasting power of Partakers relationships. This Mentor has remained in contact with their Mentee after their release and wanted to support them in their transition, helping them find employment. While there are no "magic wands" in the difficult and often fraught journey home, just knowing there are folks there for you, rooting for you, and doing whatever they can to help find the resources so you can navigate this path means the world. We are so proud to be here whenever and for whatever our students, graduates, and Mentors need for information, resources, and most especially community.

April is National Volunteer Month. At Partakers, our Volunteers are the foundation on which we grow. Our network of over 400 community volunteer mentors is literally transforming lives and building futures.

At Partakers, we do not believe that anyone should have to make this journey alone. In a time of disconnect, we are working to bridge communities and foster empathy, understanding, and lasting connections.

What makes Partakers stand out from all other in-prison and reentry models? Simply- our Mentors! We know Relationships Matter! Mentors Matter!

We currently have wait-lists for Mentors for both our College Behind Bars and PEP Reentry Program. In this season of new beginnings, when so many of us are asking "What can we do to make a difference?", we hope you will consider joining us in our work, Transforming Lives and Building Futures."

See below to learn how you can become involved. We hope you will join us for one of our Mentor Info Sessions to learn more about the Power of Partakers Mentoring.

Thank you for always being here for us!

With appreciation and heartfelt wishes,

Arthur Bembury, Executive Director

April Is National Volunteer Month

Join Us for a Mentor Info Session to Learn About How You Can Become a Partakers Mentor

April 14

May 7

Gordie Stevenson has not only been a long-time

Mentor, almost 25 years,

along with his team from St. Stephens in Cohasset, he is also a dear friend

and champion of Partakers work.

We are so grateful for

his friendship and support!

Our Next PEP Reentry Cohort Gets Underway May 8th!

This Spring, we’ve welcomed our 15th cohort to the Partakers Empowerment Program!

While we look forward to our 15th cohort graduation, there is already so much to celebrate!

Our participants have been exploring topics ranging from technology and finance to self-care — working hand in hand to support and uplift one another along their individual journeys. We are incredibly proud of all that they have accomplished and continue to achieve throughout the program.

Through our wonderful partnership with the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative, we are excited to be working with three new student facilitators. Each of these students brings their own unique empathy and knowledge to the program.

At every step, it is our Mentors who have contributed such a key and irreplaceable layer to the PEP reentry process.

Our Mentors have supported their Mentees by offering a listening ear, connecting them with resources, and showing up with warmth and encouragement. We are immensely grateful to all of our Mentors, whose dedication makes this program possible.

We hope you will consider joining us as a PEP Reentry Mentor. Our Summer cohort is on the horizon, running from May 20th to August 19th.

Our Fall/Winter cohort will begin on September 19 and conclude on December 16.

If you are interested, please contact our

Director of Mentor Relations, Rachel Balian (rachelbalian@partakers.org).

Partakers is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Boston College Prison Education Program to provide mentoring for women earning their bachelor’s degrees inside MCI Framingham.

This initiative marks an exciting return of College Behind Bars to Framingham, where Partakers previously supported women for many years through our relational model of mentoring.

We are honored to be part of this important expansion of higher education opportunities and to support the women enrolled in this program as they pursue their academic goals.

As this program begins, there will be a growing need for dedicated mentors to support these students throughout their academic journey.

If you or someone in your network may be interested in mentoring in the Framingham program, we would love to connect.

Please contact Cassie Huck at cassiehuck@partakers.org

for more information.

THANK YOU to Our Partners,

the Tufts Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT)

for a Memorable Evening at The MyTERN Symposium 2026!

Earlier this month, Partakers Staff Members had the opportunity to be in community with students in the Tufts Education and Reentry Network program (MyTERN), along with traditional Tufts students. There were great discussions on the power of learning together, the obstacles to life after prison, storytelling as a healing art, and the ties between education, employment, and world-changing.

Special guests included some familiar faces: Yammie, a former T.A. in the PEP program who performed with Tufts’ Ladies of Essence (a cappella group),

Ben, who is also a former T.A. in the PEP program, and Stonecatcher (aka Kentel Weaver), a College Behind Bars graduate with TUPIT.

Community Engaged Research | The Ethics and Impact of Working with Vulnerable Populations

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 12:30pm- 2:00pm

Brandeis University Zinner Forum, Schneider / OR Zoom

Join the Brandeis University School of Social Sciences and Social Policy for a dynamic discussion including Partakers' own Jessica Brewer, Dir of Operations, and Nemma Kalra, PEP Reentry Program Coordinator.

You are welcome to attend this event in person, if you are able. There will be a webinar option for those who wish to observe the panel and conversation. Light refreshments will be provided at 12:30 pm. If you have questions, contact Elena Lewis.

NEW for

Current Mentors!

Mentor Relations

Open House

Office Hours

Join us on the

1st and 3rd Monday

of each month

from 6-7 pm.

Come and chat with our Director of Mentor Relations,

Rachel Balian.

Ask questions, share stories, learn together, and

be in community.

Click to Join

What Kept You Coming Back

Every Week to PEP?

“I told myself, you’ve never committed to anything,

you’ve never seen things through, so see this thing through.

I was doing it for myself. “

~Schuyler, 2026 Spring PEP Reentry Cohort Member

Community Events

From Our Friends at

EVERYDAY BOSTON and

New Beginnings Reentry Program

Learn More

Interesting and Noteworthy:

What We Are

Reading and Listening to:

PBS/Road Trip Nation

The Inside Scholars

See how formerly incarcerated folks are giving back to those freshly navigating their transition to the outside, then join the classroom inside prison where educators are equipping scholars with the resources to define their own paths. Along the way, the roadtrippers reflect on their own journeys and learn what it takes to set themselves free.

Boston College alumnus Nurudeen Alabi interviews Emerson College Prison Initiative and Partakers Alumnus, Mac Hudson.

Click to Watch

How Colorado is Creating Housing Pathways After Prison

Harvard Kennedy School Performance Lab

Click to Read the Full Article

Cut-rate care: The systemic problems shaping 'healthcare' behind bars

The Prison Policy Initiative

Click to Read the Full Article

Redemption Songs: The Music of Mass Incarceration from The Marshall Project

Click to Learn More

The Science of Second Chances

A Revolution in Criminal Justice by Arnold Venture's Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice Jennifer Doleac

Click to Learn More

Sister Helen Prejean is Wiser Than Me

Julia Louis-Dreyfus sits down with the 86-year-old death penalty activist.

Click to Read

Freedom Reads: Inside Literary Prize Reveals 2026 Shortlist and Announces Six-State Prison Tour with Incarcerated Judges