“No matter what a person
has done, or not done,
they are worthy of love.”

The mission of the Everyman Prison Project is to promote the enlightenment of prisoners—those dispossessed of their place in society—and also of the society that disposed of them. Everyman will work with the dispossessed to help nourish their minds and spirits, improve their self-esteem and fill their minds with love and hope.

To Everyman:

   •  Each person in prison is not just a statistic or a number.
   •  Each is a human being.
   •  Each is also a husband, father, brother, son—wife,  
       mother, sister, daughter.
   •  Each prisoner is a beloved member of a family and a  
       circle of friends and loved ones.

Our founder Gerald Henry says:

I know this to be true—I was there.
I lived with them. I was one of them.

There, but for the grace of God go I.

Anyone, you, a member of your family or one of your circle of friends could find yourself in that position too.

If each incarcerated person is surrounded by a circle of just 20 family and friends, this creates and affected group of over 40 million in the USA alone. This is a massive group, and the pattern of the USA is repeating itself all around the world.

In my home country New Zealand, there is actually a debate going on about the wisdom of storing prisoners in disused shipping containers.

In each country, this massive group of people is essentially silent, bearing its pain in shame—stigmatized, ostracized and demonized. It is true that there are categories of inmates that may be impossible to help or rehabilitate, but this is not true of many.

Our impression of prisons and prisoners is shaped by movies, documentaries and often on the basis of sensationalized, shocking crimes.

Yet, in my experience, there are many in this group who are essentially good people with flaws that took them beyond the acceptable. The war on drugs has locked up hundreds of thousands of dealers and users for offenses society may one day decide are no longer crimes. So many of those locked up are good people—loving, kind and considerate. And each is in need of love, support and mental and spiritual nourishment.  

This is why the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:36 are so important:

“I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
What is the solution to the problem?

We do not know for sure. But what we do know is this:

   First you do what is necessary.

   Then you do what is possible.

   Once you have done this, what previously seemed
   impossible becomes possible.
As Edward Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) said:

   Do What You Can

   I am only one,
   But still I am one.
   I cannot do everything,
   But still I can do something;
   And because I cannot do
   everything I will not refuse to
   do the something that I can do.
As our founder Gerald Henry said:

   Just Because

   Just because you can’t help everyone
   It doesn’t mean you can’t help someone.
   If everyone helped who they could
   It would be enough.

OUR BELIEFS
There is No Prison Ouside the Mind

PRISON PROJECT MISSION
Nourishing the Minds of Prisoners

EVERYMAN RESOURCES
Free Books For Prisoners

OTHER PRISON RESOURCES
Free Transformational Programs