One of the important ways to disrupt mass incarceration is to get formerly incarcerated people to get college and graduate degrees. Such programs help to greatly reduce recidivism rates.
Popping up all over the state are Underground Scholar programs, organizations that help “create pathways into higher 
education for formerly incarcerated and justice system-impacted individuals” by providing support networks for the unique challenges that formerly incarcerated students face.
Two representatives from the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Underground Scholars Program joined Everyday Injustice this week, sharing their amazing stories of going from incarcerated to scholars, and the challenges of being a formerly incarcerated student and why such support programs are so vital.
