| Hour Woman-to-Woman Mentoring Program: A Second Chance through Mentoring |
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| Monday, 08 February 2010 11:37 |
Hour Children, Inc. has launched a new program – Hour Women-to-Women -- which provides mentoring for incarcerated women. The program is one of 36 awarded across the nation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance with funding from the Second Chance Act. Led by Juliana Robinson, the Program Director, and her assistant Joan Wells, the Women-to-Women focus will be to match incarcerated women who are in the re-entry phase of their sentence and are being reintegrated back into their communities with Mentors who will share in their journey towards real independence. The main components of the program will include mentoring adult female offenders pre and post release, providing training to the mentors, and providing transitional services to assist the women with reintegration back into their communities. “With constant outreach we are recruiting Mentors from the New York area to match them with women who are in one of two correctional facilities – Bayview CF in Manhattan and Taconic CF in Bedford Hills New York,” says Robinson. “Our goal is to give newly released women a support system that will ensure they are afforded a better opportunity to succeed. With this additional support we are sure that we can reduce the recidivism rate in the Women’s Prison system.” Through our program Mentors will be trained and educated on the various components of mentoring incarcerated women and addressing their needs. Because incarcerated women are faced with bigger challenges in the workforce arena, housing arena, and educational arena their needs are very different from those women who have not been incarcerated. “It is our belief that by offering these women Mentors they will have a better chance at breaking these barriers and becoming successful citizens,” says Robinson. Hour Woman-to-Woman Mentoring Program is always looking for Mentors to help give incarcerated women a Second Chance at life, explains Robinson. Anyone interested should contact: Juliana Robinson or Joan Wells at Hour Children Inc. 36-11A 12th Street, Long Island City, New York 11106 – 718-433-4724 ext 26 or email us at jrobinson@hourchildren.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and jwells@hourchildren.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Hour Children Inc has been a leader in working with formerly incarcerated mothers and their children for more than 20 years and continues to branch out and find new ways to help these women and their families.� Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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With the declining economy, Iowa like other states has had to cut Department of Corrections budgets which resulted in a loss of 770 staff since this same time last year, as well as an across the board cut of ten percent.
According to Lettie Prell, Director of Research, Iowa Department of Corrections, almost 60% of female clients had a mental health diagnosis with nearly 48% of Iowa female clients having a diagnosis of seriously mentally ill at the end of 2008. As of August 31, 2009, there were 194 female parolees in the Fifth Judicial District. Generalizing the above statistics, almost 93 of these clients will have a ‘serious’ mental health diagnosis. Recidivism rate for women is 13.0% statewide, but the recidivism rate for women with chronic mental health issues is 29.9%.
The above statistics do not address other physical, cognitive, learning, chemical dependency, social, family and internalized issues for these women. It is an emotional whiplash leaving prison where all decisions have been made and entering a culture where they are supposed to make immediate, appropriate choices. Housing, transportation, food and clothing are all necessary, but if the person’s disability symptoms negate positive job seeking and retention, they will not be successful.
I have started a nonprofit agency, Assessing Disability Barriers (ADB).
My advisor, mentor and friend, Dr. R. Dean Wright, sociology and criminal justice professor at Drake University told me many years ago that, with enough education, I was in the position to be a communication conduit between corrections and the prisoners. I do my best every day to achieve this goal.
A characteristic that may be misinterpreted by some counselors is the natural coping skill for an incarcerated person to cause themselves to be put into isolation to get away from the chaos of the general population and rest for a while. Some counselors attribute this behavior on the outside to mental health or chemical dependency issues, but I help clients find more appropriate alternatives.
Although the Iowa Department of Corrections will define at-risk and hard to place prisoners using their own definitions which may include mental illness DSM-IV diagnosis, risk scores, Jesness classifications, lack of community support, etc., Assessing Disability Barriers will make sure the clients are job-seeking ready. Food, housing, transportation and child care are all very important, but if the client’s disability symptoms negate positive job seeking and retention, they will not be successful.
Another issue that many counselors do not address is that it takes an average of one hundred dollars a month to diaper a child. Child care facilities do not accept fabric diapers. Most require ten disposable diapers per day. Laundromats do not allow fabric diapers to be washed. Many women must wait until their children are out of diapers to find and maintain employment. Assessing Disability Barriers will use part of the grant funding to distribute diaper vouchers to the clients until after they receive their first pay check. Rather than giving them a stipend check that could be spent for anything, ADB will set up a voucher account with a local retailer to provide the diapers.
MISSION STATEMENT
Disabilities are challenges not barriers! Assessing Disability Barriers
charts a map to a successful reentry for women who need supplementary help to cope with their disability, chemical dependency and criminal history issues.
I evaluate the client’s external and internalized barriers to a successful re-entry, help clients write their Plan to Achieve Self-Support; help clients reframe their world view to be consistent with the laws and rules of society, provide alternatives to immediate gratification thinking and behaviors; and provide referrals for their personal, disability (task modifications, assistive technologies and/or worksite accommodations; personal assistance; hardscape and environmental conditions), chemical dependency, financial, academic, employment, social, and family needs.
Using my own experience from a holistic perspective, I identity many aspects that may be missed by other counselors, especially the internalized barriers caused by incarceration. This includes person-centered, social-cognitiv e-behavioral therapy with a focus on the interdependence of race, socioeconomic status, current political and social stance about offenders, the client’s coping mechanisms, skills sets and interests; and how their conviction and disabilities may affect their employment opportunities.
I also published my autobiographica l novel, Proclivity, in 2007 to help girls & women who were abused as children, especially by incest. Readers tell me that either they cannot put it down or they must lay it aside to grieve for me and them, but they always have tears in their eyes when they thank me for writing it because they were able to heal from things they never wanted to look at. I am now using my forty years experience in reentry to write The Steel Ceiling and give hope to those who identify with me.