How Much?
How much will the commons cost?
You are probably wondering about the numbers on the commons program. Luckily, there are many generous individuals who have agreed to donate time, money and materials to our program. However, there are still many costs involved.
The storytellers we have chosen to use for the workshops and festival are experts in their field. The average cost per telling is $360*. However, we will only use these individuals a few times per year. The more frequent story-times use an in-house storyteller provided by a volunteer corp of tellers. We have also contacted local public libraries, and many have agreed to send their in-house tellers for our special events. Also, the librarian for the detention center has agreed to provide assistance at our events. In addition, because our site location is also near many public libraries, we can get a group rate discount for professional tellers if we plan with the libraries (many tellers will offer a discount if three or more area venues book at once). The storytellers we hire for the workshops will bring their own materials (most of which are ready-made), and so little time is required of us to prepare materials for the workshops.
In addition to the approximately $360 per professional telling, the cost of the equipment for the digital stories will be $700. It will include a laptop with open- source recording software, internet access, and a microphone.
... [The cost] is not just about dollars and cents.
We would also like to hire one part-time employee to work five to ten hours per week to supplement the volunteer tellers, and to create and distribute promotional materials for our events. $15,000 has been received through grant funding for marketing work and an employee through AmeriCorps. With this employee, we will we save on the costs of hiring an outside firm for marketing and publicity, and we will have a readily- available teller should we need one. Training for the employee, including how to manage the hardware and software associated with the project and how to train participants to use those materials, will be provided via workshops and coursework, which will also be paid from the grant money.
In addition, the cost of paper and supplies for publicity materials is fairly high, and we request about $500 to create the publicity materials. Given our schedule of four workshops and one festival, an employee, materials, and supplies minus the grant awards already received, the remaining total for the commons program is approximately $3,000.00.
If we can afford to, we would also like to perform psychological measures on the inmates to examine the effectiveness of the program. These tests would vary from the MMPI (a personality inventory), to the Rorschach and other tests used to gauge the emotional and mental health of the youth. We have contacted the local university, and there are many interested graduate students who would be happen to test the inmates informally. (Without a license, however, the exams given by the students would have limited uses). However, we feel that performing pre- and post-tests on inmates would provide some evidence of the efficacy of the program. Ideally, we would perform the pre-tests about two weeks before the program begins each year, and the post-tests within a few days of the last event of the year. Check out the calendar at right for an exact time line.
We have also contacted several area psychologists, and many are willing to perform the tests for a reduced fee (the average is $900). However, given that two tests would have to be given, it would increase our necessary funding another $1800 per year. The university students are willing to perform the statistical analyses in any case. They would be doing this work for free, and in return have the option to earn credits in a particular course. However, with a licensed professional psychologist administering the measures, the total would increase to $4,800.00. As a result, this has become an option we will consider if our funding needs are met.
To see the budget at a glance, click here.
Also, it is important to remember that although the dollars cost of this program is fairly significant, the costs associated with not implementing it are even higher. Rates of recidivism, acts of aggression while incarcerated, and decreased well-being of inmates make the sum for the program seems paltry in comparison. By not implementing this program, we will be shortchanging inmates’ chance of success in the world upon release, and the cycle of incarceration will continue. Truly, it is not just about dollars and cents.
*This is based on a forty mile one-way trip to our site, a local hotel room for one night, and the average teller’s fees in our area.