“Creativity is bringing something out of nothing. You have to imagine it first before you can make it real. So how do we begin to talk about and share about what most people never get to know about? It’s another form of activism, to begin to show audiences the things that people don’t see because there aren’t cameras behind the walls.”

That’s what Maine Inside Out makes possible. And right now, we need your help to keep it going.

MIO works across Maine - with youth and adults, inside prisons and in the community - doing the kind of culture-shift work that no policy alone can accomplish. We support one another to have the courage that this moment demands. Youth in Lewiston are telling their own stories through theater, in collaboration with Somali Bantu Community Association, Maine Community Integration, Youth-LED Justice, Tree Street Youth, UnitedYES, and other community-based partners. Adults returning home from incarceration find support and community through weekly drop-ins co-hosted by MIO and Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition. And system-impacted community artists are coming together at MIO to create original theater based on lived experience.

The need has never been greater. Mass incarceration has grown dramatically over 40 years, and racial disparities persist. Today, immigration detention is the fastest-growing driver of incarceration, locking more people up without improving public safety, and causing the greatest harm to people of color. In Lewiston, juvenile justice referral rates are among the highest in the state, alongside disproportionately high behavioral health referrals. Just over the past two months, 12 Lewiston youth were arrested for violence and gun related offenses and brought to Long Creek Youth Development Center, Maine’s youth prison. Youth are being released into the community without the support they need. Too many young people are cycling through systems built to respond to crisis rather than prevent it. More support programs and structured activities are urgently needed.

We’ve set a goal of raising $100k in 22 days - by June 22. If we get there:

Youth programming in Lewiston will continue into its fifth year, supporting violence prevention and diversion from the justice system. MIO will bring theater projects inside Bolduc Correctional Facility and the Southern Maine Women’s Re-entry Center this fall, with incarcerated artists creating original plays. Drop-ins, community gatherings, and playmaking will keep going. And all of us, from every walk of life, will have the chance to come together, reckon with hard truths, and imagine new ways of being together.

We know from experience that something collectively shifts when people who haven’t previously been in community come together. None of it happens without you.

As you may know, MIO has faced severe cuts in government and foundation funding over the last 12 months. We’ve made a deliberate choice in response: to root our survival in the people who believe in this work, not in the institutions that are pulling back. That’s a real shift, and it means your support carries more weight than it ever has. MIO exists to face harsh realities together, and to practice new ways of responding to harm. But to keep doing it, we need individual donors to build the ground we stand on.

Last year, more people gave to MIO than ever before. You are already building that foundation. This spring, we need to go further.

We’ve already raised 10% of our $100,000 goal. But we need to get all the way there to move forward with everything planned for this year.

Will you be part of this? A one-time gift, a monthly contribution, or an annual donation - every dollar keeps this work alive. If your employer matches donations, please let us know - it doubles your impact.

We’d love to hear from you: Who else should know about this work? Share in the comments: What inspires you to support theater for social change in Maine?

With deep gratitude and hope,

Maine Inside Out Staff and Board

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Join us in June for open community dialogues in Lewiston and Portland about mass incarceration in the US, anchored by original theater, film, music, and the lived experience of Maine artists.

“Imagine having a supportive circle of peers to share your story with, at a time when you’re feeling isolated and alone. Imagine finding common threads among the stories and creating a collective play about your lived experiences. Now imagine pieces of your story - your truth - performed for an audience - some of whom have never personally experienced incarceration or harmful system impacts. Imagine what it feels like to be seen. To know you’re a valued member of the community.“

Help MIO Raise $100k in 22 Days

These stories can’t wait. Will you join us? Together, we can ignite collective creativity and inspire social action through original theater.