According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Rhode Island’s incarceration rate—254 per 100,000 people—is higher than any non-American democratic country. For those incarcerated, the system has proven deeply exploitative. From the lack of protections within prisons to the financial, cultural, and social difficulties of re-entry, it was clear to Steven Parkhurst, Kyle Campbell, and Mario Monteiro that the criminal justice system was failing those impacted by incarceration, including formerly and currently incarcerated people and their families.
For Steven, Kyle, and Mario, this mission is personal. The three men had all been convicted of crimes as juveniles and together served over eighty years in prison. There, they witnessed how people on the inside were deprived of a voice.
“We did not really connect with a lot of the advocacy groups,” Steven explained. “Nobody was coming up to the prison to speak to us directly back then. So we took matters into our own hands.”
Upon their release, they noticed a disconnect between formerly incarcerated people and the politicians and organizations meant to advocate for them. “When we got out, we did not see folks like us up at the Rhode Island State House and in front of the legislators,” Steven continued. “We started to testify for some extreme sentencing bills and found a lack of robust support from the formerly incarcerated community and a lack of letters from the inside providing testimony for people’s freedom. So we put our heads together and thought, if anybody is going to lead this conversation, it should be us. It should be people that have served the time, that have direct experience.”
After realizing the necessity of making their voices heard, Steven, Kyle, and Mario founded the Rhode Island Freedom Collective, an organization that advocates on behalf of those impacted by incarceration, and especially for those still in prison who are unable to advocate for themselves directly.
As Mario noted, their time behind bars has given them unique insight into how to best support incarcerated individuals. Unlike most government officials or even many prison reform advocates, this first-hand experience allows them to identify where change would be most important. “We have all had similar and different experiences while being incarcerated,” Mario said. “And the fact that we were all juveniles in the system gives us the perspective and passion to effectuate change; we all know first-hand what could benefit the women and men on the inside.”
Among their greatest accomplishments are establishing connections with other advocacy groups across Rhode Island. From The Sentencing Project to Open Doors to D.A.R.E. and the Rhode Island Formerly Incarcerated Union, they have built a powerful coalition for criminal justice reform. “Resources are slim in the nonprofit world, and particularly in Rhode Island, which is such a small state. So we want to be able to bring coalitions together, work alongside people, and not be behind anybody or in front of anybody in this work,” Steven said.
Through their collaboration with other organizations and with state lawmakers, they have made significant progress on key legislative initiatives in the state. For example, Kyle describes their work in promoting the Free Prison Communications Bill, or Senate Bill 0128, which would eliminate call charges for those using prison phones. “It is one of the biggest hindrances when someone is trying to communicate with their family or friends and cannot realistically do it due to the limitations of the carceral state. I am hoping that this year we have enough family, friends, advocacy groups, and legislators themselves who understand the value and the importance of not having to face these exorbitant prices for phone calls.”
Crucially, the Rhode Island Freedom Collective is committed to bringing the voices of currently incarcerated people to the forefront of these decisions. “Our effort is not solely focused on particular bills,” Steven explained. “What the majority of our effort goes into is organizing folks on the inside for the first time. We were able to solidify over 160 letters of testimony from people in the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to have their voices heard. So really, it does not matter what bill that is for—it matters that people on the inside now have a voice. We are bringing this community together, showing that the fence is a demarcation line for nothing. And I think that is the message that we are trying to spread–that the community is not bifurcated by razor wire.”
Early on in their work, Steven, Kyle, and Mario began having discussions with James Jeter, the Director of the New Haven Civic Allyship Initiative at Dwight Hall and the founder of Full Citizens Coalition, and with Steven’s co-workers at the nonprofit Freedom Reads. Through these conversations, they realized that Dwight Hall’s Emerging Projects program, led by Dwight Hall Director of Community Outreach and Engagement Johnny Scafidi ’01, could offer financial and administrative guidance as they continued expanding.
“Getting a lot of their guidance, particularly when it comes to the administrative aspect of grants and fundraising, payrolls, and keeping the financial support for a nonprofit or a budding nonprofit, was the most credible and cleanest way [to help] three folks that had spent the majority of their lives on the inside and do not have a ton of experience with the administrative side of nonprofits,” Steven described.
He continued, “Kyle, Mario, and I thought this was the best way to start off and not have to put a lot of our energies into the business side of it, so that we can focus on the [advocacy] work and supporting folks on the inside, their families, and formerly incarcerated people coming home.”
All three men emphasized the difficulty of tackling these challenges while still being affected by them. “We are familiar with the challenges on the inside,” Kyle explained. “The biggest hurdle is that we have these rights that are being violated, [and subsequently] ideas and goals that we are aiming towards while we are impacted at the time. And then to be released, and have those same ideas and same issues, still not being heard, recognized, or understood—that is the deeper challenge.”
Steven added that there are basic technological or cultural differences that arise when one has spent so many years incarcerated. “When you talk about barriers, there is the obvious one of the learning curve of society. Having lived inside the prison for so long, [there are things we do not know in terms of] technology proficiency or some social norms out here. A lot of people say, ‘You’re not in the prison yard anymore,’ and I hear you, but I was raised in the prison yard. What do you expect? This is our societal standard. If you send kids to prison, they are going to get raised in the prison yard…I still try to—and I think Mario and Kyle do the same—lead with kindness and respect. But also we do it with what is in our bones, and with the family that we were raised around on the inside.”
Mario explained that this can also impact how they individually approach their work. When asked about the biggest challenges in his advocacy work, Mario answered, “Just believing in myself, believing that I belong in these spaces and that I am capable of doing this work and continuing to be my authentic self.”
As part of his advocacy, Mario also wants to counter racialized and dehumanizing portrayals of currently and formerly incarcerated people. “Another challenge that I am embracing is being a positive example of the potential of the women and men that are still incarcerated,” he wrote. “I want to be part of changing the perspective the public has of those of us who have spent time in prison. Too many people allow politicians and the media to demonize and dehumanize a mostly poor and racialized group of people. This and other reasons, I believe, are why there is not a robust criminal justice reform movement in Rhode Island.”
“It is my hope that the three of us and others can help rewrite this narrative and show what remorse, self-change, rehabilitation, and purpose look like,” Mario concluded.
Those interested in learning more about Steven, Kyle, and Mario’s work may visit the Rhode Island Freedom Collective’s website and Facebook page. The Collective is also seeking interns, volunteers, and other community members interested in supporting their advocacy. “We are all part of the community,” Steven emphasized. “We want to hear from everybody.”
The work of the Rhode Island Freedom Collective embodies the Advance pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model by developing innovative solutions to injustice and inequality in Rhode Island and beyond.
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