The Development and Implementation of the Community Arts and Reintegration Project (CARP)

• In Event: Issues in Offender Reentry

Abstract

Inmate reentry continues to be a pressing social issue. As the criminal justice system looks to shift to a more rehabilitative and restorative model of corrections viable, evidence-based programs are desperately needed to help ease this transition. This paper discusses the development and implementation of The Community Arts & Reintegration Project (CARP) in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. CARP allows for collaboration between multiple organizations and individuals in what will hopefully become a large-scale community revitalization initiative. Based on the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, CARP is a restorative justice based program that brings together community members and organizations, victims and victim advocates, and both recently released and currently incarcerated inmates to develop and construct murals that will be placed on dilapidated buildings in targeted cities throughout the county. The murals will be developed with a level of social awareness that portrays the feelings, hopes, and fears of those effected by criminal events as well as the cultural heritage unique to each city. One major goal of the project will be to build a sense of collective efficacy by giving all those involved in the process, and all those who see the murals, a feeling of pride in their community.

Author

• Timothy J. Holler, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg