What happens when a group of strangers voluntarily walks into prison—not for punishment, but for connection? That question lies at the heart of Time Together, a documentary series from Humans Being Media which debuted this week on YouTube.
The short-form series takes viewers inside the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California, where an innovative program called Empathy in Action is transforming lives.
Each six-minute episode introduces audiences to an incarcerated participant and a civilian volunteer as they engage in a weekly practice of deep listening, mutual vulnerability and emotional reckoning. The setting is raw, the dialogue unscripted and the impact profound.
Humans Being Media co-founder and filmmaker Vince Beeton says the collaboration began through a connection with another nonprofit, Life On Art, which brings creative projects into carceral settings. “We immediately hit it off with Megan [McDrew], who created the program Empathy in Action,” Beeton said. “It had been her ambition to document the incredibly unique and healing process that was happening behind prison walls.”
Filming in prison presented its own set of challenges. “Sometimes we had only 6–10 minutes to interview folks who were sometimes sharing things they had never said out loud before,” Beeton said. “Creating a safe space where they can be vulnerable and share about past trauma, or speak to how they are accountable for the crime they committed, is essential.”
The first episode features Eddie, an incarcerated man, and Steve, a civilian volunteer. Their conversation begins with a simple question: “Why would someone like you want to come in here and talk to someone like me?” The exchange reveals a shared history of childhood trauma.
“Eddie’s body language says so much,” Beeton said. “When an interview like this is happening I just have to get out of the way, listen and be present for whatever unfolds.”
The program’s structure involves a series of intimate conversations called “Families,” where public volunteers and “Brothers in Blue,” as the incarcerated participants are referred to, meet over eight weeks. Some volunteers have experienced abuse or have loved ones in the system. Their presence is often described by participants as a powerful act of recognition and service.
The nonprofit behind the program, Monterey County’s Transformative Justice Center, has implemented a peer-led model in which graduates of the program become facilitators.
“The reality of incarceration is brutal,” Beeton said, “and the dehumanization of the individual is evident as a traditional infrastructure that prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation.” He noted that Empathy in Action aligns with the principles of the California Model, which emphasizes normalization and peer mentorship. “By bringing members of the public who may have been abused to sit in a circle with someone who was once convicted of abusing, a unique alchemy occurs.”
Humans Being Media partner and filmmaker Alia Beeton added, “Doing this work and telling these stories has been transformational for me as well. Of course it’s layered and nuanced … and that’s part of the work of cultivating empathy.”
New episodes of ‘Time Together’ drop weekly on YouTube.
