VR headsets bring virtual trips and job-training practice to California prisons

A Los Angeles nonprofit is bringing virtual reality headsets into several California prisons to offer inmates brief virtual trips and simulated real-world tasks; the program uses donated devices and currently runs at four prisons several times a year.

A Los Angeles-based nonprofit has started using virtual reality headsets inside multiple California prisons to give incarcerated people short virtual visits and simulated real-world experiences. The effort grew out of a prison arts project and is presented as a way to expose people to everyday tasks they may not have seen in years. Volunteers support users after sessions to help process emotions and experiences. Organizers and some researchers say the technology could play a role in rehabilitation and reentry planning. Program details: - The nonprofit Creative Acts runs the program, using 100 Oculus headsets donated by Meta. - Sessions include short travel videos, job-interview simulations, civic scenarios, conflict resolution exercises, art and meditation content. - The program currently operates three times a year at four California prisons and serves both general population and people in solitary; youth offenders are also eligible. - Volunteers debrief participants after sessions to address emotions or trauma that arise. - Rutgers-Newark criminology dean Nancy La Vigne and other researchers note possible benefits for reentry skills and calming stressed individuals, but also point to cost and access challenges. - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has said VR use has potential to help heal trauma, regulate emotional response, and prepare for reentry, and the department did not immediately respond about expansion plans. Summary: Advocates say the program gives incarcerated people brief escapes and practical practice with tasks such as job interviews and everyday errands, and volunteers work with participants afterward to process emotional responses. Organizers hope to expand the program beyond its current sites, but broader rollout and funding remain uncertain.