The William James Association has been offering writing and arts programs in prisons across California for decades, but now those classes are on the verge of disappearing.
The Santa Cruz-based nonprofit has provided art programming in prisons since 1977. At one point, it employed 79 teachers in 17 different prisons. Today, it only has 34 teachers at 10 facilities, said Henry Frank, the nonprofit’s communications director.
Even those programs are now at risk. The California Arts Council, which has been funding the organization for years through the California Arts in Corrections program, told the nonprofit that this year it would only allocate funds to its programs in Centinela State Prison and High Desert State Prison…