Compassion Prison Project

When we’re aware, we can repair. 

Thinking about the talk I gave in Iceland at the Social Change Conference last year. Saw this photo on their website and thought I’d share. 

Awareness and accountability change everything. 

https://socialchange.is/social-change-2025/



When we're aware, we can repair.

Thinking about the talk I gave in Iceland at the Social Change Conference last year. Saw this photo on their website and thought I'd share.

Awareness and accountability change everything.

https://socialchange.is/social-change-2025/

Another Trauma Talks graduating class in Mississippi. Thank you Charles Owens for you leadership and commitment to this transformative work.

Men at SMCI Graduate from Life-Transforming “Trauma Talks” Program

Last week, several incarcerated men at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution (SMCI) in Leakesville graduated from the Compassion Prison Project’s (CPP) Trauma Talks curriculum.

The ceremony marked the completion of a 16-part series designed to address some of the underlying causes of behavior that lead to incarceration.

By exploring the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), graduates gained critical tools to regulate their nervous systems, resolve self-limiting beliefs, and develop empathy for themselves and others.

The Trauma Talks curriculum, founded by Fritzi Horstman, uses a combination of educational videos, interactive workbooks, and peer-led "circles" to foster accountability and vulnerability.

At SMCI—a facility housing nearly 3,000 men—this program provides a vital pathway for residents to break cycles of violence and prepare for successful reentry into their communities.

“When people realize their inherent value, they don’t just transform themselves; they create a ripple effect that makes the entire prison environment safer,” said a CPP representative.

The graduation is another example of the Mississippi Department of Corrections' commitment to prioritizing rehabilitation.

I stood in front of the Ironwood State Prison Trauma Talks graduates—Alpha and Bravo Yards—and asked four questions about relationships: with family, with children, with their prison community, with themselves.

95% of hands went up. Every single time.

I asked the group:

Since taking the Trauma Talks course, how many of you have:

Better relationships with your family?
Better relationships with your children?
Better relationships in your prison community?
Better relationships with yourself?

For each question 95% of the participants raised their hands.

Trauma awareness doesn’t just change individual lives—it transforms prison communities, strengthens families, and creates safer societies.

Prison Project

The year has just begun and we’re off and running!

Trauma-awareness is spreading throughout California, the US and the world.

We are about to receive 5,000 sets of Trauma Talks curriculum workbooks (75% of our order has arrived or is on the way) to send to prisons throughout the US!

Here is our storage unit filling up with boxes and boxes of workbooks to meet the growing demand.

In January we’ve shipped hundreds of workbooks to:

Indiana (3 cohorts of 20)
Missouri (1 cohort of 25)
Florida ((1 cohort of 20)
Pennsylvania (1 cohort of 20)
South Carolina (1 cohort of 8)
Texas (55 participants)
Ohio (70 participants)
Blythe, CA (4 cohorts of 30)
San Luis Obispo, CA (4 cohorts of 25)
Pelican Bay, CA (2 cohorts of 15)
San Diego, CA (1 cohort of 30)

And we are in discussions with AZ, WA, OK and OR!

Not to mention sending hundreds of workbooks to our correspondence participants in almost every state in the Union.

And new cohorts starting in Malta and Ireland!

We are learning how to scale and grow. From orders of 1,000 sets now to 5,000. Next will be 10,000 and then 100,000.

There are approximately 2 million men and women incarcerated. Let’s have everyone who walks into a prison or jail have the opportunity to access this life-changing material.

Thank you Michelle Boulé for such a fierce, deep conversation. 🙏🏻

Fritzi Horstman

In the latest episode of my Fierce Wisdom Series, @fritzihorstman and I share a deep conversation about trauma, shame, forgiveness, and what happens when we bring compassion into the places society has most abandoned. If you’re curious about what trauma-informed healing can truly look like—in your own life and in the world—I think you’ll feel this one. The full interview is available on my website blog and Youtube channel. Have a listen. 💓 As a final ask, make a donation of any size to the @compassion.prison.project 💕 #trauma #traumainformedspaces #healing #accountability #forgiveness

In the latest episode of my Fierce Wisdom Series, @fritzihorstman and I share a deep conversation about trauma, shame, forgiveness, and what happens when we bring compassion into the places society has most abandoned. If you’re curious about what trauma-informed healing can truly look like—in your own life and in the world—I think you’ll feel this one. The full interview is available on my website blog and Youtube channel. Have a listen. 💓 As a final ask, make a donation of any size to the @compassion.prison.project 💕 #trauma #traumainformedspaces #healing #accountability #forgiveness

More tears of gratitude.

What an honor to know the impact Trauma Talks is having at Indiana State Prison and that these men have been “shown that someone does care, and that their healing and growth matter.”

In Trauma Talks we encourage the participants to experiment with the “Algorithm for Transformation: Vulnerability, Accountability and Forgiveness.” You can see in the letter sent to us from one of the administrators, that these men have taken the idea of accountability to heart:

“The participants of the first Trauma Talks class [in Indiana] asked me to share these photos of the graduates with you. They wanted me to extend their deepest gratitude for everything you did to make this program possible.

They are incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished. In fact, they’ve already begun a project to make amends to their communities. Each participant has written a personal letter and is sending it to the county they come from—a step they chose themselves, grounded in accountability and healing.

They also made something for you and asked me to send it your way. I’m including a picture so you can see it now, let me know what the best address for you is I and I’ll mail it. They made something for me as well, and when I can get a photo, I’ll share that with you too. It’s truly special.

This has been a long journey—full of perseverance, vulnerability, and hard work—but they rose to the challenge and achieved something meaningful. I want to thank you as well. I do everything I can for these men within the limits of a prison setting, but I couldn’t have helped them bring this program to life without your support.

Your dedication to incarcerated individuals—people who often feel forgotten—has made a real difference. You’ve shown them that someone does care, and that their healing and growth matter. For that, we are all deeply grateful.”

And our work continues in Indiana. We are starting two more cohorts in January!



Fritzi Horstman

I’m so excited to introduce our first cohort of Trauma Talks graduates from Montana State Prison. This milestone reflects the courage and commitment of the men who showed up, did the work, and chose growth and transformation. We’re honored to continue expanding this program and bringing trauma-informed healing to more individuals across the state.