{"id":3701,"date":"2024-11-18T14:20:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/marketing\/?p=3701"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:39:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:39:46","slug":"changing-lives-through-literature-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/11\/18\/changing-lives-through-literature-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Lives Through Literature Program at GCC Graduates 10 Participants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brian<\/a>
Superior Court Justice Jeremy Bucci (left) and Social Sciences Dept Chair Brian Kapitulik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, 10 individuals in the Greenfield court system ended one chapter and began the next after graduating from GCC\u2019s Changing Lives Through Literature program. The program is part of a national alternative sentencing program offered through a partnership between GCC, Franklin Superior Court and the District Courts of Greenfield and Orange.<\/p>\n

Participants met weekly for 10 weeks with probation officers, judges, and a facilitator to discuss assigned literature.<\/p>\n

By completing the program participants are now eligible for reduced sentences. Research has also shown that the program reduces recidivism. And for those who do re-offend, their offenses are less \u2018serious\u2019 than non-participants.<\/p>\n

The program was brought to Franklin County in 2015 through the combined efforts of Judge Laurie MacLeod, Judge Mary Lou Rup (retired) and Sheila Moriarty, the Chief Probation Officer in Franklin Superior Court.\u00a0To date, 75 probationers have successfully completed the program and many have gone on to enroll at GCC. Judge MacLeod remarked at Thursday\u2019s ceremony, \u201cNothing makes me happier than when I learn that a participant in\u00a0Changing\u00a0Lives\u00a0through Literature has enrolled at GCC.\u201d<\/p>\n

GCC\u2019s Social Sciences Department Chair and program facilitator Brian Kapitulik says about the project, \u201cThe whole idea is to use the transformative power of literature to cultivate empathy, foster connection and support rehabilitation. It\u2019s about identifying what we share in common and bringing people together across life experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kapitulik notes that this year\u2019s graduating cohort is twice the size of last year\u2019s and the impact on last years\u2019 graduates is already evident. He describes how one of last year\u2019s graduates is now enrolled at GCC after several decades away from college. That student reports that the staff and faculty at the college have made him feel completely welcome at GCC and like he belongs.<\/p>\n

Two of last year\u2019s participants have even returned to take the class for a second time. While they certainly appreciate the reduction of their probation that comes with completing the class, it\u2019s not the only reason they\u2019re back. They both have talked about what a great experience it was for them\u2013 a great way to connect with others and something to look forward to each week.<\/p>\n

The program was initially started<\/a><\/span> by UMass Dartmouth English Prof. Robert Waxler, Judge Robert Kane and New Bedford District Court probation officer Wayne St. Pierre in 1991 in New Bedford, Mass., and has expanded to 12 states, as well as in Manchester, England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, 10 individuals in the Greenfield court system ended one chapter and began the next after graduating from GCC\u2019s Changing Lives Through Literature program. The program is part of a national alternative sentencing program offered through a partnership between GCC, Franklin Superior Court and the District Courts of Greenfield and Orange. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}