The curriculum My Story Matters provides in the correctional facilities teaches, inspires, and engages those incarcerated in remembering who they are and that they too are worthy of redemption. This curriculum emphasizes circumstances and choices that led to their incarceration do not need to define their life.
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Meet Josh

Josh grew up in Utah County and was a typical teenager. He enjoyed playing soccer and lifting weights. He didn't set out to be a prisoner, but life circumstances led him on a path of prescriptions drugs which led to an addiction, which led to incarceration, which led to an incredible transformation.  Watch more of his story below.

Meet Portia

Portia is an accomplished photographer, mother, wife and grandma. Prescriptions drugs and the rush of Real Estate investments took her down a path she never anticipated. She served 4 and a half years in federal prison. Watch more of her story below.

We Need YOU

We cannot do this without you and we don’t have any more time to waste.  Every single day, another Josh in this world gets told he is nothing but a number, a label and a list of mistakes. We can’t wait any longer to reach out and allow them the opportunity to change, to improve, to remember THEY TOO have a story, and It DOES MATTER.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

"At a time where I was trying to put my life back together and make changes that would help me get a new future this curriculum provided a roadmap for me to not only believe that was possible but give me an action plan to achieve it." 
-Montius
I look forward to the class each week, I’ve learned how to look at myself and my situation from a different perspective. It’s been so uplifting and a wonderful experience.
~Current participant
"The lesson on circle of control is the most profound thing I have learned since being in Prison. I always think I never have control over anything here. They tell me what to do, they dictate everything! But when we made the list of everything we have control over in here, it changed everything for me. I realized I can control myself, how I behave, and how I act. I realized if I do that while I am in here, if I really control myself while I'm in here I will be able to do the same when I get out. I've never considered that."
— E.P, former inmate and continuing participant 
​“The first day in class when we did introductions one of our instructors, Josh, shared his story. I have to tell you Josh’s story changed my life. I saw so much of myself in him and his history. It gave me proof that change is possible. I have been fighting for my change every day since hearing it. I am making hard choices and decisions everyday to keep my vision aligned with who I want to be. It’s not easy, but this life is so much better than the life I had before.”
​~A.R, former inmate and continuing participant 
​We were beginning a brand new new class. We made it clear this is not a program. This is a lifestyle, it’s a life course. There was one student who had completed the program and he was returning for a few weeks. As we introduced the course and the commitment that would be expected our returning inmate asked if he could talk to the group for a min. He said, “You guys they teach this to sober people. They teach this to normal people in the world. They teach these skills to kids in school. They are going to teach you steps. Everything they teach is a model for you to run every scenario and every decision through. It works. They didn’t make some program for us broken people, they believe so much in us they are bringing us a program that they teach on the outside to help everyone. They believe in us. Trust them. Listen to them. This model will take some time to understand and learn, but I am here to tell you it works. Be honest, get to work, do it!”
​-Current Instructor