CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — A Los Angeles-based nonprofit is using virtual reality headsets to give California prison inmates brief escapes to far-flung destinations and practice for real-world challenges — from Bangkok street markets to simulated job interviews — in a program its founder calls a “hope machine.”
Creative Acts founder Sabra Williams said the program grew from earlier prison arts work that incorporated theater, music, poetry, dance and painting. Watching incarcerated people engage in artistic pursuits led her to consider other ways to “bring the outside world inside.”
The nonprofit runs the program three times a year at four California prisons, using 100 Oculus headsets donated by Meta. Researchers say VR technology could play a meaningful role in rehabilitation and reentry preparation, though cost and equitable access remain concerns.
During a weeklong program last month at Valley State Prison near Fresno, incarcerated men sat on metal folding chairs in a common area and were outfitted with headsets resembling opaque goggles. As the high-definition videos began, participants described being transported to destinations including Bangkok and other locations abroad.
Jacob Smith, who has been incarcerated for two decades and is eligible for parole in 2031, now volunteers helping fellow inmates navigate the VR experience.
“For a lot of us, the workforce has changed and things are different with the application process,” Smith said. “It’s a nerve-wracking experience going to sit in front of somebody and telling them why I’m good for the job.”
Reentry skills and emotional processing
Williams said the program was partly inspired by people who had left prison and found themselves disoriented by everyday tasks that had changed during their incarceration — pumping gas, using ATMs, or checking out at a supermarket.
“And what I hear from them is that it made them feel like they didn’t belong, and that they only belong in prison,” she said.
Creative Acts creates its own VR videos covering travel, civic engagement, conflict resolution, art and meditation, Williams said. After each session, volunteers help inmates process the emotions or traumas that surfaced during the experience.
The group conducts the program in both the general prison population and solitary confinement. Youth offenders are also eligible.
Researcher sees promise, cautions on access
Nancy La Vigne, dean of the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice in New Jersey, said VR technology could have an important role in rehabilitation and, in particular, reintegration into society. She envisioned people who have been away from daily life for extended periods using VR to practice navigating a DMV office or figuring out how to take a city bus.
La Vigne pointed to research published by the American Psychological Association that found incarcerated people who viewed short nature videos showed reduced levels of aggression and were subject to fewer discipline reports.
She said cost and limited access pose practical challenges for broader deployment, however.
“You can’t just hand them out or sell them at commissary,” La Vigne said.
Richard Richard, a former inmate who first used a VR headset about six years ago when the program launched, has since become a volunteer for Creative Acts following his release.
“You may physically be here, but mentally, spiritually you can actually transcend this environment,” he said.
State backing
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that it “welcomes innovative approaches that help keep our communities safe.”
In announcing the introduction of VR at the California Men’s Colony prison in San Luis Obispo County last August, the department said the technology has the potential “to heal trauma, regulate emotional response, and prepare for a safe, successful reentry into society.”
Williams said she hopes to expand the program throughout California and across the country.
The introductory VR experience — a two-minute trip to Thailand — is often emotional for inmates, some of whom, Williams said, had “never been off their block, let alone out the country.”
“And so many times people would take off the headsets and they’d be crying,” she said. “Because they’d be like, ‘I never knew the world was so beautiful.’”