'Dignity' photo exhibit allows inmates to showcase their road to recovery
The program is designed for incarcerated individuals to learn photography skills and ultimately create a self portrait.
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The 'Dignity' photo exhibit at Yaphank Correctional Facility is allowing inmates to showcase their road to recovery through a camera lens.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. offers the Addiction Treatment Program to incarcerated men and women.
As part of the program, the group participated in a four-week photography class led by photographer Saskia Keeley.
The program is designed for incarcerated individuals to learn photography skills and ultimately create a self portrait.
Their final portraits, along with words on what dignity means to them, will be displayed in the visiting lobby of the Yaphank Correctional Facility throughout December.
Former inmates who participated in the program attended the opening of the exhibit and spoke about their experiences.
Event organizers say the program is meant to help inmates recover while serving their sentences.
"Even though they may have fallen down, made a mistake and are incarcerated, these are still mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. They're people amongst our communities," says Sheriff Toulon.
For a preview of the exhibit, click here.
