Voices Unbroken Inc

“When the organization receives the 990 form from the accountant, it is first reviewed by management and then each board member is sent a draft of the 990 for review, questions and comments. Once management receives every board member's questions and comments, these are passed on to the accountant and form 990 is revised accordingly. Once the revisions are completed and approved, the 990 is then filed with the irs by management after it has been duly signed by the appropriate organization's official. A copy of the revised 990 form is sent to each board member for their records.”

“Each board member is required to read and sign the conflict of interest policy upon joining the board and annually. The conflict of interest policy is reviewed by the board annually.”

“The salary of the executive director is included in the annual budget, which is submitted to the board annually for review and approval.”

“Voices unbroken makes its form 1023 and form 990 available to the public upon request.”

“Voices unbroken makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the general public upon request.”

“Voices unbroken is a bronx-based non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing under-heard members of the community - primarily youth, ages 12-24 - with the tools and opportunity for creative self-expression. Through high quality creative writing workshops in juvenile justice facilities, group homes, residential treatment facilities, jails and various other transitional and alternative settings, voices unbroken nurtures the inherent need in all people to tell their stories and be heard. It is our belief that this telling of stories and sharing of dreams leads to individual and community growth.”

“Through high quality creative writing workshops in juvenile justice facilities, group homes, residential treatment facilities, jails, and various other alternative and transitional settings, voices unbroken nurtures the inherent need in all people to tell their stories and be heard. It is our belief that this telling of stories and sharing of dreams leads to individual and community growth. Voices unbroken's first workshop was held at the high school for adolescent girls on rikers island, and we have maintained a commitment to serving young people who are in the juvenile and adult justice systems, even as we have expanded to service others. Voices beyond bars workshops give young people who are incarcerated/detained new tools for coping with stress; moving past trauma; and learning to take responsibility for their actions and emotions. As with all voices unbroken workshops, participants improve their ability to speak in public, practice creative self-reflection, interpret challenges with a positive mindset, develop a hopeful future outlook, gain willingness to engage in other essential services (counseling, re-entry, education, etc.), and increase confidence in their voice as a vehicle for change both in their lives and in the communities they come from and/or will return to upon release. In 2015, voices unbroken facilitated 249 90-minute workshop sessions, which served 465 participants in its voices beyond bars program (a program that offers workshops to youth in the juvenile and adult justice systems). The workshops gave these young people who are incarcerated or detained new tools for coping with stress, moving past trauma and learning to take responsibility for their actions and emotions. In its speaking our voices program (a program that brings creative writing workshops into a variety of community and alternative settings such as foster care or restrictive residential facilities), voices unbroken provided 110 90-minute workshop sessions in 2015, which served 289 participants. These workshops helped participants learn how to write from the heart, speak for themselves and share their stories. In 2015, voices in ink (the publishing arm of voices unbroken) published, the 12th anthology of participant writing and the 11th issue of voices ink-a full-color magazine that is distributed to individuals and organizations throughout the country. It also publiched an anthology of poetry created in voices unbroken workshops held in the bronx as well as writings by participants at other sites. Also in 2015, voices unbroken board and staff members paticipated in the nyc council speaker's young women's initiative and sat on the anti-violence and criminal justice working group for the young women's initiative that made proposals to the nyc council speaker for programs, strategies, reforms and investments to reduce violence against young women in nyc and that would promote positive youth develpment in the justice system voices unbroken is committed to using its various programs to help participants develop self-expression skills through creative writing and discussion exercises, which enable them to constructively communicate in situations where they previously would not have had the confidence to speak up. These programs help participants improve: -comfort with their ability to speak in public -their ability to engage in creative self-reflection -their ability to positively interpret challenges and develop a hopeful future orientation -their willingness to engage in other essential services (counseling, education, etc.) -confidence in their voices as a vehicle for change in their own lives and in the community they live in.”