Source: sanquentinnews.com 6/28/25
A new 26-week self-help program has been established at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, designed to help those convicted of a sex offense to understand why they committed the crime.
The program’s name, B.R.A.V.E., stands for Bridging, Responsibility, Accountability and Vulnerability through Empathy. It began in January 2025 with 38 participants in attendance, which included volunteers and administrative and medical officials.
The program gives participants a safe place to understand the trauma they have caused without fear and stigma. This environment will encourage participants to freely discuss the shame and guilt they feel about the bad decisions they made.
“Only an incarcerated sex offender truly understands another incarcerated sex offender, who is trying to prove to our victims and our communities that we are doing the work,” said B.R.A.V.E. co-founder and SQ resident Louis Light.
According to the curriculum, B.R.A.V.E. provides beginner-level philosophies and teachings that help participants grasp full accountability of the harm they created.
The program is in accord with CDCR’s Department Operations Manual and is classified as a “Sexual Harm” group. Therefore, it is a “Special Service Group” with a very specific purpose.
The co-founders believe sincere participation, and complete understanding may help offenders acquire strategies to cope with character defects and make amends with their communities inside and outside of prison.
“Accountability and a second chance at doing the very hard work assists our participants in realizing that by making a decision to join B.R.A.V.E., they can meet their past head on and come out of the darkness of shame,” said SQ program facilitator Robert Esquivel.
Sounds kinda like the treatment I had in Nebraska’s prison system
Safe space lasts about as long as you are in the room…..