Enrichment Activities

A Better Way Program
This program provides Life Coaching Workshops that help individuals navigate life challenges. Workshops focus on self-regulation, anger management and interpersonal relationships. Offered in NIC.

Audio Pictures
This music engineering program and music production course is offered in all facilities. Click here for more information. 

Boundless Freedom - Mindfulness
Boundless Freedom Mindfulness provides incarcerated individuals with strategies on how to reduce stress, trauma, anger, impulsiveness and aggression while increasing focus, calm, empathy, self-awareness, skillful decision-making and resilience with mindfulness practices.  Offered in GRVC and RESH. Click here for more information.

Chess NYC
Teaches NYC teaches the population how to play chess and use these strategic skills daily. Offered in all facilities.

Exodus Christian Etiquette Center
A five-week etiquette class which involves hands-on training to develop strong social skills. Offered in OBCC, West Facility and RNDC. Click here for more information.

Conbody
Conbody is a workout program that teaches participants how to facilitate fitness classes. Offered in all facilities. Click here for more information.

Enhanced Recreation
Structured recreation includes sporting events and activities (pickleball, basketball tournaments, skills and drills basketball fundamental training, soccer, wiffle ball, flag football, handball, badminton, and volleyball). This includes facility-based and agency wide tournaments, in-house recreation (board games, card games, table tennis), meditation and mindfulness, video gaming, carnivals, talent shows, poetry slams, vision boards, fitness programming, and incentivized programming to support internal and external program participation as well as positive institutional behavior. Offered in all facilities.

FDNY Hands Only CPR
Program participants are provided with the following: Skill demonstrations and hands-on practice for performing hands-only CPR; basic instruction on how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED); additional information for identifying a person in need of CPR and other resources. Offered in all facilities. Click here for more information.

Giant Thinking
This program provides human behavior awareness through critical thinking and physical fitness. Offered in OBCC and EMTC. Click here for more information.

Inner Peace Meditation
Through yoga and meditation exercises, participants increase awareness of physical sensations/discomfort/tension, which may enable participants to better cope with stressful situations. Offered in RMSC. Click here for more information.

Library Services and Rolling Book Cart
New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries provide people in custody with the books, magazines, comic books, and other materials. Reading can help manage stress, gain new knowledge, work through difficult feelings and consider new opportunities. Offered in NIC, RMSC, OBCC and GRVC. Click here for more information.

NYC Community Chorus
Participants will learn several songs in different styles to see what engages the singers’ interest and their skill level. Typically, singers are enthusiastic about not only learning music that is familiar and accessible to them, but in addition, music that is new and intriguing. Singers enjoy being entertained and challenged at the same time. Offered in West Facility. 
Click here for more information. 

Rikers Debate Project
Debate classes seek to improve self-advocacy, conflict-resolution, and negotiation skills, culminating in a Debate Championship. Offered in OBCC. 
Click here for more information.

Speak 4 Life
The Speak 4 Life program is for healing through self-expression. The goal of this program is to empower minds and provide a safe space to develop and strengthen their writing and speaking skills and lead them toward their freer and more expressive selves. Offered to individuals in Level 2 of RESH.

Tai Chi Fitness
Tai Chi Fitness is a traditional Chinese exercise program involving low impact, gentle, stretching and exercises that are beneficial both physically and mentally.  These exercises can help improve balance, chronic pain, flexibility, overall health, and reduce the risk of falls. Offered in NIC. 

The Flower Project
The Flower Project is a writing class for individuals interested in pushing themselves to reach their full potential, learning more about hope, and further developing their written, oral, and listening skills in a participant-centered, strength and growth-based working environment. Offered in EMTC. 

The Kite
This is creative writing workshops is aimed at providing youth an outlet for using their voices. Cursive writing and calligraphy are also covered. Offered in NIC, West Facility and RNDC.
Click here for more information.


The Light Inside - Meditation
Joh Jarvis provides meditation training for incarcerated individuals, to help heal trauma and relieve stress. Offered in GRVC. Click here for more information.

The Twinning Project
Twinning is a partnership between the New York Football Club (soccer) and DOC in which participants who are nearing release engage in programming designed to develop and support the fundamentals of soccer while building participants' capacity for teamwork, problem solving and skill development.  Upon graduation from the cohort and release from custody, participants have the opportunity to engage with NYFC in the community and seek out employment opportunities. Offered in RNDC, RMSC, EMTC and GRVC. 
Click here for more information.

Transforma Fitness
This program provides physical fitness and exercise that omits weightlifting and utilizes calisthenics, breathing, and motivational group conversations to stimulate the mind and body. Offered in all facilities. 

We Speak
Provides workshops on debating techniques, public speaking and effective research. Individuals debate various topics of their choosing on teams against other housing units. Offered in NIC. 

Woosaa Wellness
Through yoga and meditation exercises, participants will increase awareness of physical sensations/discomfort/tension, which may enable participants to better cope with stressful situations. Offered in all facilities. Click here for more information.