Our Workshops

Next PAGE has launched its first trauma-informed creative writing workshop for formerly incarcerated youth in East Harlem.

In partnership with Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO) — one of New York City’s most impactful reentry organizations — students ages 17 to 24 explore storytelling as a pathway to healing, identity-building, and community connection. Each week, participants gather in a restorative, arts-based space to reflect, write, and share.

The literacy gap among system-involved youth is stark: many enter juvenile detention functionally illiterate, making it difficult to finish school, apply for jobs, or navigate life after release. Yet literacy education has been shown to reduce recidivism by nearly half.

Participants in Next PAGE’s pilot program begin, on average, at a third-grade reading level. Our workshops meet them where they are — using oral storytelling, journaling, spoken word, cartooning, and hip-hop as tools for authentic expression. These narratives will be published in the inaugural Next PAGE student zine, edited in collaboration with top-tier editors from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Hearst Magazines.

This pilot marks a foundational step toward our mission: using creative writing to strengthen literacy, foster reentry, and help incarcerated youth reclaim their voices.

Support our workshops for incarcerated youth.