The LAST MILE

SCI Pine Grove recently began a new vocational program focused on computer coding through a partnership with @TLM an organization working in prisons across the United States to reduce recidivism. In the latest episode of the PA Prisons and Parole Podcast, TLM Executive Director…

Last week, we celebrated the graduation of ten students from The Last Mile web development program at the North Dakota Facility. The cohort spent the previous year acquiring technology skills, including web development, coding, and software engineering, to prepare them for…

Prison teaches men how to survive—but usually not how to love. Years of incarceration often train men to suppress vulnerability and disengage emotionally as a part of their survival. These same survival traits can often become barriers when they return home. Dr. James “JC”…

From a prison cell to a PhD—Dr. James Cavitt is rewriting what thriving after incarceration looks like. Dr. James “JC” Cavitt, a Returned Citizen and graduate of The Last Mile, just earned his doctorate in education—and he’s using it to serve the very community he came from. In…

From a prison cell to a PhD—Dr. James Cavitt is rewriting what thriving after incarceration looks like. Dr. James “JC” Cavitt, a Returned Citizen and graduate of The Last Mile, just earned his doctorate in education—and he’s using it to serve the very community he came from.…

Twenty years behind bars means twenty years behind in understanding technology. TLM Alumni Robert Chambers entered the prison system in 1998, before the internet transformed daily life forever. By the time he returned home in February of 2025, an entire digital universe had…

Too many people are reentering a world that demands digital skills they never had a chance to learn. For many justice-impacted individuals, like TLM alumni and team member Brett Buskirk, the world they reenter after incarceration looks nothing like the one they left. Coming home…

For one night, prison walls disappeared… and a dance became a doorway to healing. This past June, San Quentin held its first-ever father-daughter prom—a powerful culmination of an 8-week Family Communication Workshop designed to build bridges between incarcerated fathers and…

When society gives up on people, unconditional love is often the last thing they expect. At Homeboy Industries, unconditional love and support has become a foundational element of their rehabilitative process. Tom Vozzo, CEO of @HomeboyInd, shares with @taratrask how second and…

Our system stacks the odds against people the moment they walk out of prison. Tom Vozzo, CEO of of @HomeboyInd, shares a powerful story about a justice-impacted father forced to leave his young children alone so he could report to jail to pay off court debts— all while holding…

At The Last Mile, we believe in second chances, in dignity, and in building a future through education and opportunity. This heartfelt note from the men at Pelican Bay State Prison reminds us why we do this work: 👉 "The enthusiasm the instructors provide is contagious, and we…

America’s obsession with profit often leaves the workforce behind—especially those trying to reenter society after incarceration. Tom Vozzo walked away from the corner office of Aramark to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those society forgot. After decades in corporate…

The most powerful thing you can offer someone that society has given up on? Unconditional love. In this week’s episode of The Last Mile Radio, Tom Vozzo of @HomeboyInd reveals the quiet power behind radical rehabilitation: relentless compassion. Many of Homeboy's…

Just finished program with Salem County Sheriff’s Office Corrections detainees @NJ_DOC . Participants overwhelmingly reported positive benefits including calmness & peace. Thx out to the committed staff & innovative Warden. We’re proud to sign MOU to partner for rehabilitation.

The prison system was never designed to prepare people for life on the outside. Returning to society after years behind bars means navigating a world that moved on without you—and that can feel like learning to walk again. Perry Garner, justice-impacted and formerly incarcerated…

The fire camps in California are one of the few spaces where people who are incarcerated can volunteer to do meaningful, skilled work—facing danger, yes, but also building confidence, strength, and purpose. In this episode of The Last Mile Radio, Chief Royal Ramey—co-founder of…

The people most in need of a second chance are usually denied one. @HomeboyInd CEO Tom Vozzo shares with @taratrask how Homeboy's hiring model disrupts the stigma around justice-impacted individuals: At Homeboy Industries, the most "unemployable" candidates are considered the…

Having a parent behind bars can derail a kid’s future before they even get started. @khalidcannon joins @taratrask to break down how parental incarceration devastates a child’s life. This can often triple their chances of poverty, and increasing the risks of teen pregnancy and…

You may get a hundred no’s… but somebody is eventually gonna say yes. And that was the Pacers for me.” – Billie Edison, TLM Alum At this year’s @jfftweets Horizons Summit, The Last Mile Executive Director Kevin McCracken led a powerful conversation on the barriers…

Burying fear is often a key survival tactic in prison—but it comes at the cost of your own mental health. When @carrillofranky entered the prison system as a teenager, he learned fast that showing fear could make you a target. Not facing his fear became a daily routine—a way to…