reentry, a house of cards, Pt. 2

July 17, 2013July 17, 20135 Comments

You just won’t believe how hard it is for a woman leaving jail and reentering society.

It’s as if the iron bars linger like tenacious shadows, waiting to swoop in if mistakes are made or not enough progress is achieved in short order.

Behind Iron Bars
by Leander Starr Tideway

But let me get much more specific, so you understand what I mean.

If you recall last month, I told you about the 30-something woman recently released from Chittenden Correctional Facility whom Sarah and I have been meeting with weekly.

I’ll call her Zoe. (She calls us and other supporters her A Team!)

Anyway, as we sip our unique latte combinations, Zoe updates us on her personal news and seeks advice. Continue reading →

mindfully drumming – part 2

June 18, 2013June 18, 20132 Comments

This past winter, a colleague and I began a grand experiment – to design and co-facilitate a drumming & mindfulness practice program for 20 women prisoners incarcerated at the Chittenden Correctional Facility.

Walking Meditation
By barliquin

Vermont Works for Women, with some generous private funding, gave us its blessing and guidance to make the pilot project happen.

If you recall, the aim was to teach band drum-line techniques and mindfulness exercises over 16 weeks to reduce stress and anxiety in some of the most challenging inmates.

The women participants, or as they named their band – ONE SOUND, ONE SOUL – graduated from the program this past May.

Here’s a recap of their inspiring progress in my Vermont Public Radio commentary that aired just this morning. Enjoy the listen!

ENOUGH SAID!

May 3, 2013May 17, 2013Leave a comment

I love the name of the report released this week by Vermont Works for Women – ENOUGH SAID!

..meaning enough chitter-chatter about the work and economic independence challenges facing young women and girls in the state, and let’s get to ACTION and change the trend.

(FYI, women are twice as likely as men to live in poverty, both in Vermont and nationally.)

Burlington Free Press – Glenn Russell

ENOUGH SAID – Young Women Talk about School, Work and Becoming Adults: Why We Should Listen and What We Can Do was released by Vermont Works for Women at the State House this week.

The nonprofit org, based in Winooski, helps women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence. Continue reading →

mindfully drumming

February 7, 2013February 10, 20132 Comments

My latest project at the Chittenden Correctional Facility is designing a drumming & mindfulness pilot program for the incarcerated women.

Drum line by taddzilla/Flickr

Ask me if I knew A THING about the difference between a snare or tenor drum when we began in January, or even how to hold a pair of hickory drumsticks? The answer then was a resounding, NO!”

Yet under the skilled mentorship of Berklee College of Music-trained drummer Sue Schmidt, of Burlington, we are halfway through an 8-week program, learning how to play our individual parts while simultaneously becoming a unified drumline. (Sounds like an important metaphor for life, huh?!)

The 16 women participants were identified by correctional officers for this innovative Vermont Works for Women program.

The program, called “Flying Sticks: Drumming and Stress Reduction,” aims to provide a healthy avenue for women (who struggle with aggressive behavior) to burn off stress and anxiety through drumming, as well as to engage in healthy communal activity with other inmates. Continue reading →

writinginsideVT adds new program!

October 24, 2012October 24, 20125 Comments

We are thrilled to announce that we are now writing ‘inside’ with mentor-mentee pairs from the Vermont Women’s Mentoring Program!

This mentoring program links incarcerated women at Chittenden Correctional Facility to supportive women mentors from the local community, who can provide meaningful advice throughout the reentry process. (It is a partnership between Vermont Works for Women, Mercy Connections and the Department of Corrections.)

Sarah and I envisioned facilitating writing circles for this unique grouping nearly a year ago, sensing that our model could help deepen the relationships between mentors and mentees getting to know one another. We were graced with the presence of five mentor-mentee pairs for the kick-off circle last Sunday!

Soul Armor by Emily Steiner Franz

Together we wrote to the prompt … a costume I’d need in the world I hadn’t entered yet … from the poem “Costumes” by Sharon Charde. I’ve included two pieces from new ‘inside’ writers. Read on.

* * * *

The perfect costume for a world I have not entered yet. I guess that would be an invisible force field that would keep all evil away from me. I would be free to roam about, and wouldn’t have to worry about the demons of my past sneaking up on me and pulling me down.

I’m getting ready to enter a new world alright. The world of sobriety. The open world of sobriety, not surrounded by a barbed wire fence that has kept me away from my past – also my past away from me.

Now I’m a few weeks away from walking beyond this fence. And I’m ready. I have a suit made of armor. My invisible force field. –MD Continue reading →