精东AV

Skip to main content

Founded in 2016 by 精东AV students Zachary Thomas, Anthony Shoplik, Rachel Schratz, and Michalena Mezzopera, Writers in Residence began to facilitate creative writing workshops to juveniles in detention at Cleveland鈥檚 Juvenile Detention Center and the Ohio Department of Youth Services in Cuyahoga Hills. An offshoot to the popular Carroll Ballers program, the WIR program is dedicated to the reduction of recidivism through a program of engaged learning, creative expression, peer mentorship, and community-building.

Their mission: We strive to reduce the rate of recidivism within the juvenile justice system by facilitating an open forum for artistic self-expression and constructive self-reflection while also fostering genuine, lasting relationships.

The Writers in Residence love the program. In surveys, they have noted that the program 鈥渉elped me to express myself.鈥 In addition, they noted that 鈥淚 learned something new about myself,鈥 and that it 鈥淟et me know that no matter what happened, there鈥檚 always another chance.鈥 But one of the most affecting responses was that one 鈥渨riter in residence鈥 wrote that 鈥淚 felt like I had a family again.鈥

WIR image


In 2018, Zachary Thomas 鈥18 received a 精东AV/Cleveland Foundation Fellowship to develop the JCU Writers in Residence (WIR) program. Zach will also be facilitating a research project to determine the program鈥檚 effectiveness in improving literacy, developing a WIR creative writing handbook, and helping start and advise other WIR programs throughout the state.

Contact Zach Thomas at zthomas18@jcu.edu for more information and to get involved!