Enneagram Prison Project

"We are all in a prison of our own making, in the way that we suffer our personalities."

"In bearing witness to the courageous inner-work taking place in the unlikely place that is prison, I became downright convinced that the benefit of self-understanding through the lens of the Enneagram is a critical missing piece for real criminal reform."

— Susan Olesek | EPP Founder | Enneagram Prison Project

The objective of The Enneagram Prison Project is to reduce recidivism rates in each state of the nation and each country in the world. This reduces the number of victims and the amount of tax-payers' money spent annually. How do we do this? By making sure that people behind bars are doing more than just time. The incarcerated need to examine not just what they've done, but why. They need to dissect their interior lives, a place that is, for most, even scarier than the things they've done or the crimes they have committed.

Children in harms way all too often grow up to harm society. Once adult, they in turn cause immeasurable hurt and suffering by victimizing others and the society in which they struggle to become a viable participant. It costs an average of $47,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California. Capturing, reprimanding, and removing people from our communities takes an enormous toll on all of us. And after all of this? Most are released back into the population and their cycle just starts over. Many actually emerge from prison in even worse shape than when they went in.

This is not just a criminal's problem.

This is an entire society's problem.

The second key objective is to improve the intrapersonal lives of those behind bars — from the about-to-be-paroled all the way to the lifers and those on death row. People who have hurt others are hurting themselves. These women and men can live lives in abject misery and suffering.

Statistics show that very high percentages of incarcerated men and women (particularly those incarcerated for violent crimes) were victims of some form of abuse and suffer psychological turmoil that quite often began in early childhood, hard to comprehend for those who were raised in safe, nurturing, and supportive homes. Comprehending this, It is important to address much of the incarcerated population with understanding, compassion and care, and with the most effective tools for healing and for change available. Welcome to our work.

Statistics show that extraordinarily high percentages of all incarcerated are victims of some form of child abuse, child neglect, or are children of addicts and suffer continual psychological turmoil.

MEET THE PIONEERING TEAM | EPP'S FOUNDING BOARD

Susan Olesek | Human Potentialist | Enneagram Teacher

www.susanolesek.com 

Rick Olesek | Information Systems | Entrepreneur

Suzanne Dion | Communications, Enneagram Teacher

www.chaeldiongroup.com

WHY ARE WE FUNDRAISING?

We have faith enough in this work to do it for free, and during those first many years, we did just that. But we don't want to deplete the passion behind this effort before it comes to its fruition. We are raising what we need to not just survive, but to thrive. The work of self-realization is no quick-fix, that's not how it happens. This is life-long work and we are committed to bringing it to those who need it most.

To that end, the more carefully we lay the foundation for curriculum tailored to this population, gather Enneagram-specialized facilitators who are well prepared for the environment of prison, and the more