What is GOGI?

Getting Out by Going In  (GOGI) is an organization staffed entirely by community volunteers and formerly incarcerated volunteers who are dedicated to helping incarcerated men, women and children make better choices. We offer simple tools for positive decision making.
GOGI is important because the government cannot correct the problem of high re-arrest rates and as a nation, we do not need to waste any more money.
GOGI is needed because currently 90 percent of all prisoners will return back into our society. Now, most of them return with increased criminal skills.
GOGI is able to correct inmate perception and behavior through providing an alternative culture of positive social skills.
GOGI is available to train facility staff and management in the facilitation of GOGI Self-Corrective Education.
GOGI sees and reinforces all that is good in every human.
GOGI relies 100 percent on YOUR donations! Please donate today! GOGI is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
GOGI is a 100 percent volunteer organization with 100 percent volunteer staff.
Coach Mara Leigh Taylor is devoted and dedicated to radically shifting how the United States responds to individuals who violate society's rules and regulations. She stands firm, believing there are good people who make bad decisions. Coach Taylor and her team of volunteer GOGI coaches are helping people make better decisions through use of the Twelve Tools of GOGI.

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GOGI is Changing the System from the Inside Out through specific initiatives. GOGI is a non-profit organization responding to decreasing budgets for education and rehabilitative services to incarcerated men, women and children.  We encourage the self-education of inmates by providing our materials and services to inmates and institutions. At GOGI (pronounced with a hard "G" as in Yogi,) we know the inmate has an opportunity to self-correct; we believe it is essential in reducing recidivism and supporting increasing the safety in our communities.

To meet this need, GOGI has mounted a national campaign to "Change the System from the Inside Out," calling on institutions and inmates to look beyond diminishing budgets to the proven benefit of self-education offered by GOGI.  Utilizing the simple Twelve Tools of GOGI as our foundation for learning, these simple cognitive and behavioral tools were developed through intense work with thousands of Federal, State and County inmates who regularly assisted in the streamlining of complex concepts. The GOGI tools work to change cognition and behavior because they were designed for the inmates, by the inmates.

GOGI Initiatives GOGI Books to Inmates GOGI Books to Prisons and Jails GOGI Correspondence Course to Prisons and Jails GOGI Correspondence Course to Inmates GOGI Classes GOGI Mailroom GOGI Hotline GOGI Coaching GOGI Inmate Peer Coaching GOGI Campus GOGI Yoga

Relying on Donor support, GOGI responds to increasing numbers of inmates writing to our organization for a copy of our GOGI materials.  "Women in Prison: Women Finding Freedom," and "Prison: Getting Out By Going In," are the first two of a long series of GOGI Books offered to inmates.

Provided to all institutions at the publisher's price, any institution of incarceration automatically receives the at-cost price for any of the GOGI's self-help books. Provided to all institutions at the publisher's price, any institution of incarceration interested in providing inmates with the GOGI Correspondence Course automatically receives the at-cost price for the curriculum workbook. Relying on donor support, GOGI understands the importance of providing all inmates with the tools for positive decision making. This Correspondence Course relies entirely on the inmate's initiative for completion and results in a completion certificate provided by GOGI. With the advent of fewer educational and training services for inmates, an increasing number of institutions are permitting GOGI Classes and Workshops to be held.  The GOGI weekly and monthly classes, facilitated by staff, volunteers or assigned inmates, review and support the learning of The Twelve Tools of GOGI through weekly meetings, writing assignments and the earning of completion certificates. The GOGI Mailroom, located in Long Beach, California, receives hundreds of letters from across the United States and other countries from inmates seeking support for change. The GOGI Mailroom, a volunteer initiative for Getting Out By Going In, is managed by former inmate, Coach Davida Martinez and former inmate Coach-in-training, Teri Shedarowich. The GOGI mailroom responds to inmate's requests for materials and support. Each week former GOGI students, University volunteer, Church groups and community volunteers join together to assist the GOGI staff in responding to incoming inmate letting seeking change. Graduates of our campus, workshops or correspondence courses benefit from continued GOGI support through our GOGI Hotline. Supervised by former GOGI Girl, Coach Maria Castro, the GOGI Hotline is the link released individuals use to maintain their continuum of care.  Graduates who express interest are assigned University and College level interns as their assigned GOGI Coach to assist them in the transition to freedom. Using The Twelve Tools of GOGI as the methodology for change, individuals completing the GOGI Coach Certification earn the right to the title " GOGI Coach."   Recertifying annually, these volunteers are dedicated to the GOGI mission of Changing the System From the Inside Out.  One year after release, former inmates can begin the process of becoming a Certified GOGI Coach.  While incarcerated, select inmates who qualify can earn the title, "GOGI Peer Coach," which acknowledges their contribution to the self-education of peer inmates.  To qualify as a GOGI Peer Coach, inmates must complete a rigorous criteria and prove themselves over time as dedicating their lives to living for the benefit of their community. Responding to decreased staffing and relying completely on existing staff and services, the GOGI Campus model is designed for easy application for all settings of incarceration for financially-struggling institution pressured to deliver lower recidivism rates. An exemplary model of GOGI Campus is currently operational at the Wasatch County Jail in Heber City Utah where Sheriff's Staff and Community Volunteers support this no-cost therapeutic community. GOGI Campus ~ Wasatch is the first non-pilot, GOGI-Coordinated Community Collaboration under the direction of the Wasatch County Sheriff's Department where a dedicated housing unit and increased self-education requirements are met by the 16-bed housing unit.  Based on data and protocol developed during three separate pilot programs serving more than 300 incarcerated women throughout California institutions of prisons, jail and drug treatment programs, the GOGI Campus concept has proven to dramatically reduce recidivism with little or no additional cost to the institution. Designed by GOGI Coach Amy Rose Stabley, GOGI Yoga combines The Twelve Tools of GOGI with simple yoga routines applicable to cell and institutional limitations for physical movement.  Available in worksheets as well as the GOGI YOGA self-education book, the inmate is provided with the simple techniques of integrating positive cognitions with body movement.