VAAC Friday Community Meetings are a weekly space for connection, updates, and shared learning.
May 22 | Mental Health Awareness Month Conversation
Join VAAC on May 22 at 12:30 PM for our Friday Community meeting, featuring special guest Hakim Crampton.
Hakim Crampton is a Lyrical Educator, Hip Hopologist, Justice Advocate, Author, Consultant, Healing Centered Practitioner, Government Relations Liaison at Citizens for Prison Reform, and Founder of The Academic Mentoring & Education Network.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, this conversation will focus on the connection between mental health, policy, and access.
Hakim will discuss a Therapeutic Spaces proposal focused on alternatives to solitary confinement and the growing movement in Michigan to address the harms caused by long-term isolation in prisons.
The proposal includes therapeutic spaces intended to reduce isolation and support mental health through increased out-of-cell time, expanded visitation access, sensory activities such as art and music, outdoor activity, exercise opportunities, and trauma-informed mental health policies developed with healthcare and treatment experts.
The conversation will also explore broader advocacy efforts around solitary confinement in Michigan, including concerns raised by incarcerated people, family members, and advocates about the mental health impacts of prolonged isolation and the need for more humane, healing-centered approaches within correctional settings. Reporting by Solitary Watch highlighted ongoing efforts by Michigan advocates to challenge the use of solitary confinement and document its impact on incarcerated people and their families.
May 22 
12:30 – 1:30 PM EST
Virtual (Zoom) 
Join: bit.ly/VAACFridays
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