For the majority of Patrick W. Berry’s career, he’s immersed himself in activism around the carceral system through literacy education and humanities-based studies. It wasn’t until he visited a cousin, who had suffered a stroke and was staying in a nursing facility in New York City, that Berr y realized he wanted to help incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people and their families to tell their own stories. Berry’s cousin had a history of incarceration and drug use. His cousin couldn’t tell his own story because of his health, leaving his story subject to stereotypes and misconceptions, Berry said. “I began to think about [how] we need to have some better support systems in place,” Berry said. Berry, an associate professor of writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University, came up with Project Mend. The idea took form in 2022. It includes two parts. The first is Mend Journal is a multi-genre anthology of works from nationwide contributors published in print and digital versions. The first issue was published in 2023, the second edition was published in 2024, and the third edition was launched on February 15.The second is Mend Syracuse, an apprenticeship program that operates as the editorial team. It consists of up to a dozen apprentices made up of Central New York writers and community members who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. A new cohort is recruited annually and each member receives stipends. To create the program, Berry leaned on his experience in magazine publishing, instructing writing workshops for incarcerated people and writing his own book about literacy and higher education in prison.Patrick W. Berry (left) and Joes A. Perez at the Central Library in Downtown Syracuse, New York. Credit: Courtesy of Jose A. PerezSubmissions for Mend Journal come from across the nation. Many include artwork, poetry, nonfiction, academic essays and research reports. On average, they receive more than 100 manuscript submissions. The publication received more than 200 submissions but had to narrow them down for publishing purposes.  “When you read somebody else’s story and you see their experiences, it just opens people’s eyes about all of the challenges people are facing in prison, in reentry and just making a change,” Berry said. Berry considers Mend to be different from most prison publications, which typically publish pieces centered on prison experiences. Mend contributors are encouraged to write about anything they want. All types of writing styles and genres are accepted. Jose A. Perez is a contributor to Mend’s third edition, which features his poem “Man Skin, Boy Mask: A Love Poem.” In the poem, he details the intersectionalities of the foster care-to-prison pipeline, the adultification of young men of color, and the child welfare and justice system. His poem was partly inspired by Frantz Fanon’s “Black Skin, White Masks.”“I wanted to talk about how you can be a young boy in the child welfare system dreaming for a family, hoping that you be saved from just going from foster home to foster home,” Perez said. “Hoping that your parents can get their shit together so that you can go home with them eventually.”Perez’s poem speaks to his experience of being a teenager, forced to be an adult under the law, and being given an adult sentencing.He served 20 years in prison for second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. Berry collaborates with local organizations to recruit editors for the apprenticeship, including the Center for Community Alternatives. He doesn’t require editors to have prior editing experience or a degree — only an interest in writing and to have been affected by incarceration.  But he’s also always on the lookout for people who could contribute to Mend. Berry found Perez’s work on Facebook through another one of his contributors, Brian T. Shaw. Perez and Shaw became friends while they were incarcerated and remained friends after being released from prison. Many of the publication’s key contributors and editors, including Shaw and Perez, have been incarcerated. Senior editor Troy White, and first-time editor Rachel Botting have been incarcerated before. Charlee Crosby, a Mend apprentice, experienced her sister’s incarceration.Perez appreciates Mend’s process. It is one of the few publications he could find that focuses on highlighting the experiences of incarcerated people and their families. The publication allowed Perez and others to write, edit and critique the work, he said.  “It was more of a peer group setting, where it’s not a whole bunch of editors who never experienced a prison setting,” Perez said. “It’s folks who’ve been justice-impacted, folks who know what it’s like to create in a confined space.”Mend editors: Tony Eiland (left) and Troy White (right) at Mend launch party. Credit: Courtesy of Patrick BerryThrough his work, Perez has gone on to publish a collection of poems in several digital publications, including The Imprint. He recently published his first poetry book “Till Ink Meets Paper: Poems for Guendalina…My Mommy.” Through poetry, Perez was able to rekindle his relationship with his mother, he said. Shaw was one of Mend’s early supporters and contributors. He met Berry through a professor at Columbia University, where Shaw is studying for a master’s in public health.Shaw, who was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and served just over 17 and a half years in prison, completed his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree while incarcerated. In addition to participating in the first cohort of the apprenticeship, Shaw has taken part in judging the best writing pieces each year. White, the senior editor of Mend, helps with recruiting each year. He’s learned editing and how to design the magazine. He learned about the program while living in a transitional living facility after his release from prison. White’s director told him about the program and encouraged him to apply.  “It’s been humbling in the sense that knowing that I’m not alone,” White said. “… Nobody really understands that situation unless you’ve been in it.” White sees the publication as a space for reflection and awareness. In the future, Berry is looking to invite poets, artists, and intellectuals to partake in speaking engagements for the program. He also wants to incorporate digital storytelling to reach a broader audience and add visual elements to showcase the contributor’s works.  “I saw Project Mend as a way of honoring the creative, intellectual [and] humanities-based ideas of people,” Berry said. “Having a space where people can just enjoy being in each other’s company and partake in programming, that kind of is like the heart of mend. I guess there is a quiet activism in the work that we’re doing.”The group is actively recruiting for its 2025-2026 Mend Syracuse apprenticeship. It is open to community members and welcomes more young people to join the editorial team. Community members interested in applying have to reside in Central New York and have been impacted by mass incarceration. For more details visit the website to learn more and apply. Interested applicants can contact Patrick W. Berry at pwberry@syr.edu.The post How Project Mend is helping formerly incarcerated people and their families tell their stories appeared first on Central Current. ...read more read less