King 5 News in Seattle did a news piece on Pongo Poetry.  My blog doesn’t have the capability to embed the video of the show, but I encourage you to click this link and listen to the 7:58 minute video.

The video talks about how the volunteers work with the kids to produce cathartic poetry about the pain they’ve gone through.  You hear glimpses of them talk about what has happened to them and hear recitations of pieces they’ve written that help to excise the past so they can move on to a better future.

http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Poetry-flows-from-teens-behind-bars-141111313.html

“Pongo runs writing projects for youth who’ve suffered childhood traumas, such as abuse and neglect,” says Gold who was named a Microsoft Integral Fellow by the Microsoft Alumni Foundation in 2010 with $25,000 for Pongo.

“We work inside juvenile detention centers, homeless shelters, psychiatric hospitals, and other sites. And we particularly focus our work on young people who have a hard time expressing themselves. Our primary purpose is to help our authors understand their feelings, build self-esteem, and take better control of their lives,” says Gold.

Poetry flows from teens behind bars | KING5.com Seattle.