VR in Prisons (Most Powerful Session!!)
- Creative Acts is a non-profit working in prisons using VR for meditation, increasing well-being and training about cell phone and other technologies in everyday life.
- Participants would progress through different immersive experiences, such as visiting a beautiful beach in Thailand, trips to cultural sites, immersive art, trauma mitigation therapy, etc. and then write poetry or create art as a reflective practice
- Participants who were preparing for re-entry could use VR simulations to learn about using cell phones, debit cards, computers/Internet and other technology that they did not have prior to entering prison.
- In the example they discussed, there was a 96% drop in infractions among the incarcerated individuals who participated. This program transformed people on the first experience, it created hope and a desire to change direction
- Mental health servicers working the prison backed the program as a mental health service
- One very powerful use was a VR family dinner and virtual videos of family members sharing heavy thoughts and feelings about how the participant's absence in their lives affected them. These were done to help prepare for seeing those family members after re-entry. One major fear of those leaving prison are those first family gatherings.
- I thought it might be something to think about for ILS programming.
- Article about their work: Virtual reality, re-entry combine at VSP - Inside CDCR (ca.gov)
- Challenges
- Getting support from the administration to allow the equipment into the prisons
- Some guards felt that prisoners didn't deserve this type of "reward" or that it was a waste of resources until they realized that fewer infractions makes their workday better and safer
- Not having Internet means that large amounts of data have to be self-contained to run on the VR headsets
- Need funds and support in creating siloed content, need for conflict resolution content
- Prisons want to stay invisible, it is very hard to get data out about prison life or the positive impacts of such programs
- Red tape and issues around human subjects, a university-backed program might be able to better navigate this environment, have the infrastructure and possible grant funds for studies
- Juvenile system is almost impossible to get into for this kind of program
- Participants had to build up to longer uses of VR because of the overwhelming nature of the VR experience, had to include a counseling component