by Joaquin Contreras, Lewiston Sun Journal The 35-year-old Gilead resident is the first inmate in Maine to earn a master’s degree in restorative justice. In 2010, Brandon Brown was sentenced to 27 years in prison — with all but 17 suspended — for attempted murder after shooting James Sanders, a former Marine, in the chest
Featured
December 19, 2021
Art that breaks through prison walls
By CBS News Link to video here. Along Route 1, in Thomaston, Maine, is a store filled with crafts – birdhouses and dollhouses, salad bowls and sailing ships – all made in Maine state prisons. Ted and Barbara Widmayer have been shopping here for decades. “We found the quality to be excellent,” said Ted. “It’s
August 27, 2021
Honoring the Late, Great Doris Buffett
Doris Buffett, known as a retail philanthropist, died at her home in Rockport on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, at the age of 92. The following tribute was sent to UMA Rockland‘s Director, Deborah Meehan, by Shaun Libby, an inmate at the Maine State Prison. Through Doris Buffett’s generosity, in 2006 the University of Maine at
July 10, 2021
Shining Light on Humanity
The Need for Courage at Maine State Prison by Leo Hylton | Jul 10, 2021 “Real courage … is shown by those who don’t merely follow the trend or status quo, but who stand up for that which is right and truly just…” – Mark Twain Over the past several months, I have been blessed to engage with
July 2, 2021
Ground Breaks On New Women’s Transitional Living Facility In Rapid City
by Megan Feighery, SD Public Broadcasting Passages is a faith-based ministry focused on helping women re-enter society after prison or homelessness. The new residential building can house fourteen people – double that of the current place. Passages will own this facility after renting for eight years. Marge Beam is the executive director. She says the update
June 17, 2021
Policy Matters: Child Care
Tuesday, June 22 at 6:30 p.m. Early Education: Bigger than baby steps Nearly 20 years ago, Doris Buffett, sister to billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett, pledged $3 million to create the state’s first Educare center, an innovative early childhood education model intended to help children from birth to 3 years old with emotional, cognitive
‘A different kind of elevation’: Behind the work to keep education in prison
Kristen Johnson – The Fayetteville Observer CLINTON — A typical day for Mahogani Thompkins usually involves stubborn technology and loads of paperwork. As a case manager at Sampson Correctional Institution, Thompkins wears many hats, but most specifically, she works with more than two dozen incarcerated men currently completing education courses at the facility. Daily, she is sending completed
March 18, 2021
University of Maine at Augusta, Department of Corrections open Doris Buffett Higher Education Center at State Prison
Thu, 03/18/2021 – 11:00am Published in the Penobscot Bay Pilot The University of Maine at Augusta and the Maine Department of Corrections have opened the Doris Buffett Higher Education Center at the Maine State Prison in Warren. The ribbon cutting ceremony marked the end of the renovation project at MSP and was a celebration of
March 3, 2021
‘Finding Our Voices’ receives $50,000 grant
CAMDEN — “Finding Our Voices,” the Camden-based, grassroots nonprofit organization marshaling survivor voices and faces to break the silence of domestic abuse, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Sunshine Lady Foundation. Diane Grimsley, The Sunshine Lady Foundation president and board member since 1996, said “This grant was approved knowing that the Sunshine Lady Foundation founder
UMA prison education partnership to expand after receiving a nearly million-dollar grant
The grant will help hire a new director, expand the humanities classes offered and allow UMA to purchase new technology for the program. By Emily Duggan Kennebec Journal AUGUSTA — Daniel Porter never envisioned wanting to be any type of educator. But after taking college courses to gain his bachelor’s degree while incarcerated at the