A Different Perspective
Prison Braille programs are designed to meet two diverse needs: the need for more high quality braille materials for people who are blind, and the need to rehabilitate offenders and prepare them for reentry into society. While there is quite a lot of talk about the benefit to students who are blind and visually impaired that are able to receive high quality braille material from these facilities, we don’t often focus on the perspective of the transcribers behind bars. These individuals have taken the opportunities to acquire knowledge in a specialized field and change the course of their lives.
These Prison Braille programs impact the lives of all individuals involved and we’d like to take the opportunity to share stories from former inmates who have been released and are taking their braille skills into the real world.
All essays have been edited to remove identifying information.