Devin Giordano

I’m Devin Giordano, a journalist and essayist from New York, and the co-founder of You Are Not Alone (YANA), a nonprofit born inside Eastern NY Correctional Facility. YANA is committed to shifting the culture of how men treat women by confronting violence, teaching respect, and supporting healing—one man, one boy at a time. What started as a conversation inside prison now continues as a movement in the community.

I also serve as Chairman of the Lifers and Long-Termers Organization, where I help build programs for men serving long sentences—programs centered on education, reflection, and preparation for life beyond the walls. My own path has been shaped by the Bard Prison Initiative, where I study social studies. Education there has shown me that learning isn’t just about books—it’s about transformation.

Currently, I’m writing my senior thesis on the pharmaceutical management of childhood behavior in the United States. My work examines how medication operates as a form of biopolitical control—reshaping identity, stifling emotional development, and setting vulnerable youth, especially from marginalized communities, on a path toward addiction and incarceration.

As a writer, I use essays to explore issues I’ve lived and witnessed firsthand. On my Substack, @unchaindevin, I write about the felony murder law, the culture of prison life, and the mismanagement of institutions. Writing has become the way I reach beyond these walls and into conversations that matter.

Much of my work is inspired by my time in prison, the failures of institutions, and the possibilities of restorative justice and resilience.