The Mission of the San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. is to assist men in becoming leaders within themselves, their families, their communities and to build a bridge of accountability between the community inside and outside of prison.
T.R.U.S.T. Graduation 2019
COVID UPDATE
May 2021
TRUST During Covid
Greetings! During this very challenging time globally and locally, there have been heightened issues inside the walls of San Quentin. As many news outlets and public health officials have reported, the institution has been striving to care for the staff and the incarcerated population.
We, the Volunteers of TRUST, would like to share the steps we have taken to support the men in our programs and our efforts to create an outlet for them to communicate with us. Our ability to conduct in- person activities was abruptly halted in Mid-March.
We are grateful that we were able to have a final meeting with the TRUST Fellows and Workshop participants on March 12, 2020. At that time, we explained that we were voluntarily placing the program on hold as we were aware that we were on the verge of a Covid lockdown. We assured the men that we would seek ways to communicate with them in the meantime. We had hoped we would be back within a few months, but it is clear now that our hiatus is indefinite.
Happily, the administration informed us that we could send and receive monthly, program-based communications.
As a result, we have been able to write letters of support as well as provide lessons on Kindness, Gratitude, Tranquility and other topics to promote positive self care and growth.
Beginning in January 2021, we launched a new six month correspondence curriculum we call "Getting Real".
Topics include:
January: Self-Assessment and Mindfulness : Read Responses from Lesson 1
February: Emotional Intelligence and Using the Pause : Read Responses From Lesson 2
March: Social Intelligence and Managing Emotions in Relationships: Read Responses From Lesson 3
April: Active Listening with Mindfulness: Read Responses From Lesson 4
May: Mindful Speech and Looking for Patterns in Speech: Read Responses From Lesson 5
June: Conclusion with a focus on Resilience: Read Responses From Lesson 6
As of September 2021, we are planning to resume in person workshops. More details to come.
You can read a reflection here from one of the guys
about how to cope during COVID on the inside.
Welcome!
T.R.U.S.T. is "Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training".
The T.R.U.S.T. organization is an umbrella covering a variety of programs and events serving the San Quentin community. Currently, these are: the T.R.U.S.T. Workshops, Project L.A., Anger Management (taught in Spanish), and Emotional Health and Wellness. A Graduation event is held every year to honor the graduates from all of the T.R.U.S.T. programs. In addition, the T.R.U.S.T. organization sponsors an annual Health Fair to benefit the San Quentin population. All this is made possible with the hard work, commitment, and leadership of 15-20 currently incarcerated men, known as Fellows and program volunteers.
We are proud that T.R.U.S.T. has been functioning since 2003. While the individuals who make up the Fellows can change over time, a stable mission, along with a steady commitment from the outside facilitators and volunteers provides a strong and enduring quality to the programs.
We hope to foster an understanding with you, our greater community, of the tremendous growth that occurs among the men who participate in our programs. Many men inside San Quentin are working hard, against the odds, to become productive, law abiding, self-aware individuals. Also encouraging is that our members who have rejoined the community are currently fulfilling responsible positions in a variety of areas.
Please use this website to get to know us better. Be sure not to miss the Personal Insights page. It is truly inspiring!
Special thanks to Acting Warden Ron Broomfield , our Public Information, Officer L.T. Sam Robinson, and our Community Partnership Manager, Lt. Armand Armas for supporting this website.