LQ: California Prison Inmates Help the Blind

In May, our clubs celebrate Recycle for Sight Month. After glasses are collected by clubs, they must be cleaned and sorted before the glasses can help people in need. At the Folsom State Prison in California, inmates are a crucial part of this process.

When we traveled to capture this segment of LQ, it was interesting to see how inmates  worked in a variety of ways to improve the lives of the blind and visually impaired. While some inmates sorted glasses, others worked on Braille transcriptions of books and music for students. They  also caption videos and record audio books.

Warden Rick Hill said that in addition to helping the community, the program is beneficial to the prisoners, who gain sought-after job skills and self-confidence through this partnership. “This is a very meaningful job that most of the guys in this program are totally selfless in what they’re doing. They really are totally committed to doing something good for the community and in some way paying back.”