Transforming prison cultures, climates, and spaces

Transforming conditions of confinement for a more just future

Every person—no matter their circumstances—deserves dignity. But today, nearly 2 million people—disproportionately Black and Latinx—are living in cramped, inhumane prisons that lack natural light, fresh air, healthy food, and satisfactory medical and mental health care. And while in prison, young men of color experience higher rates of violence and are more likely to be sent to restrictive housing—an extreme form of punishment with lasting harm.

Restoring Promise: A scalable model for prison reform

Vera’s Restoring Promise initiative partners with corrections leaders and incarcerated people to reimagine prison housing units for young adults and realign corrections policies and practices with a commitment to human dignity. Our goal is clear: to center human dignity in every aspect of prison culture, climates, and spaces to drive meaningful, sustainable change.

Since 2016, when Vera and the MILPA Collective opened the first of now nine young adult housing units in six states, we’ve demonstrated that change is possible. Treating people with dignity creates safer environments, stronger communities, and a deeper sense of purpose beyond custody and control.

Restoring Promise is more than a set of housing units—it’s a roadmap that leads to human dignity. As more states seek alternatives to punishment-based prison cultures, our work offers a tested, scalable solution to move from harm to healing.

Young Adult Housing Units with Human Dignity

Restoring Promise transforms traditional prison housing into vibrant, supportive communities for young adults. Designed in partnership with incarcerated people and corrections staff, these spaces are guided by our core strategies: restorative practices, cultural healing, equity, family engagement, and community building.

We use the principle of normalcy to model the world outside of prison, and we implement restorative practices and dynamic security to make prisons safer. Our evidence-backed model includes:

• Mentorship that prepares young adults for life after prison. Incarcerated mentors over age 25 coach young people on essential life skills—like conflict resolution, financial literacy, and relationships—strengthening their chances for success after release.
• Policy and data support to advance reform. We help corrections agencies collect and analyze data to drive improvements in conditions of confinement.
• Training correctional staff as leaders and peacemakers. We equip staff with skills in communication, de-escalation, and relationship-building, which lead to lower levels of violence, better job satisfaction, and safer environments for all.

Designed for Dignity: A Human-Centered Vision for Safer, Healthier Prisons

An evolution of the Restoring Promise approach, Designed for Dignity builds on what we've learned from shifting culture through policy, practice, and physical environment changes at the housing unit level to transforming statewide policies, practices, and training across an entire agency. Vera's Dignity Principles—seven principles developed through years of research and practice building young adult housing units—provide a powerful roadmap for improving conditions of confinement in prisons and jails. These principles—safety, human dignity, morale and well-being, fairness, purpose, family and community partnership, and transparency—guide our technical assistance to help departments of corrections assess statewide prison culture, align police and practices, and create a plan for sustainable culture change, all centered on human dignity.

Ending harm, building hope

Restoring Promise’s work proves that prison culture change is possible when we center human dignity. Together, we can end harmful incarceration and build systems that see everyone’s humanity, dignity, and value—for the people inside and communities they’ll return to.