The Community

Our mission is to foster the full potential of people with criminal records through Pre-entry and showcasing their successes, humanity, and agency through Correcting the Narrative.

Our mission is to foster the full potential of people with criminal records through Pre-entry and showcasing their successes, humanity, and agency through Correcting the Narrative.

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View Our Team & Our Board

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View Our Team & Board

What’s New?

Correcting the Narrative Awards

September 1, 2022

When: September 1st, 2022
Where: Turner Hall Ballroom
Register: Register Now

2021 Resources:

Register Now

Our Latest Video

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Our latest video – Why you need to vote if you have a record

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All In All Out is a podcast partnership between The Community, the Milwaukee School of Engineering University Scholars Honors Program, and the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform geared toward promoting greater collaboration in the reentry-reform-decarceration ecosystem in Wisconsin and showcasing the successes, humanity, and agency of people with criminal records.

Listen Now

The Community Speaks

July 08, 2022

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All In All Out is a podcast partnership between The Community, the Milwaukee School of Engineering University Scholars Honors Program, and the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform geared toward promoting greater collaboration in the reentry-reform-decarceration ecosystem in Wisconsin and showcasing the successes, humanity, and agency of people with criminal records.

Ways You Can Help

See our Free People Problems page for fundraising merchandise options and info about the meaning behind the words and design. It’s more than a slogan; it’s pyschology.

Donate with CashApp

Click the icon or use $thecommunitynow on the CashApp app.

Donate with Venmo

Click the icon or use @thecommunitynow on the Venmo app.

Donate with Venmo

Click the icon or use @thecommunitynow on the Venmo app.

Amazon Smile

1. Go to Smile.Amazon.com 2. Log in with your regular Amazon account info
3. Add “The Community” as the charity

OR go to settings on the Amazon app on your phone and activate AmazonSmile, then add us as the charity.

Amazon will donate to us .05% of every purchase you make at no extra cost to you.

Donate with SociaTap

Donate to The Community when you sign up for SociaTAP here ($5 subscription).

Heather Langton Photography

Heather Langton Photography captures the vibrance of unfiltered nature to bring renewed hope and healing to those who need it. They donate 25% of profits from photography purchases to The Community.

Dev Cabin Technologies

Dev Cabin Technologies offers digital solutions for your business or personal needs, whether you need web design and development, apps, digital marketing, and more. Use the name “The Community” and they will donate 10% to us.

Free People Problems Merchandise

See our Free People Problems page for fundraising merchandise options and info about the meaning behind the words and design of the logo. It’s more than a slogan; it’s pyschology.

Donate with CashApp

Click the icon or use $thecommunitynow on the app.

Donate with Venmo

Click the icon or use @thecommunitynow on the app.

Donate with PayPal

Click the icon or use thecommunitywis@gmail.com on PayPal.

Donate with Amazon

1. Go to Smile.Amazon.com
2. Log in using your regular Amazon account info
3. Add “The Community” as the charity.

OR go to settings on the Amazon app on your phone and activate AmazonSmile, then add us as the charity.

Amazon will donate to us .5% of every purchase you make at no extra cost to you.

Donate with SociaTap

Donate to The Community when you sign up for SociaTAP here ($5 subscription).

Heather Langton Photography

Heather Langton Photography captures the vibrance of unfiltered nature to bring renewed hope and healing to those who need it. They donate 25% of profits from photography purchases to us.

Dev Cabin Technologies

Dev Cabin Technologies offers digital solutions for your business or personal needs, whether you need web design and development, apps, digital marketing, or more. Use the name “The Community” and they will donate 10% to us.

Some Of Our Partners

Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison

Our Team

Shannon Ross

Executive Director

Shannon served 17 years in prison in the Wisconsin prison system from the ages of 19 to 36. He created The Community in 2014 with the invaluable help of friends and family while finishing his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is also a graduate student at UW-Milwaukee’s Masters in Sustainable Peacebuilding program, a fellow with the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform, a mentor with Prisons to Professionals, and co-owner of a transportation company. To learn more about his speaking engagements and innovative consulting agency (Paradigm Shyft: Reentry Strategies and Consulting), visit his LinkedIn page below.

LinkedIn

Jim Kaufman

Jack-of-all-trades

Jim is an overall polymath with multiple degrees, graphic design expertise, legal acumen, and tech know-how who spent seven years in the Wisconsin prison system.

LinkedIn

Ann Knoedler

Office Manager

Ann is a retired newspaper reporter and Vice President of the Uptown Crossing Neighborhood Association and manages a community garden in Milwaukee.

Roy Rogers

Preentry Liaison & Information Analyst

Roy is a public speaker, advocate for “juvenile lifers” in the Wisconsin prison system, and an associate of the Wisconsin Alliance For Youth Justice (WAYJ). Roy has over two decades of experience mentoring and counseling youth during his 28 years in prison from the age of 16. He is a graduate of the Madison Area Technical College and certified in Entry Level IT training at the New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Milwaukee and CompTIA ITF. And he also serves as a musician at the Progressive Baptist Church.