She says many conversations around reentry and prison support programs omit the struggles that formerly incarcerated women face. “Most women, about 75 percent, who are in jails and prisons today are domestic violence survivors. So issues like drug addiction are often related to unhealed traumas, like domestic violence, or sexual assault.” But Oman says these issues extend even further. Many of the programs prisons offer to women
a woman who would choose incarceration over their children. Instead, something else is going on underneath.These women need to be able to breathe, get out of survival mode, and heal.” EncouragingWoman Oman says there needs to be a greater focus on encouraging women and providing them with resources that can not only assist in their transitions but also help them address core elements that heavily influenced the reasons they were first sentenced to prison. “When we build up strengths and assets rather than just telling them what they did wrong, they will grow.”The focus of the Free Campaign is addressing that on state and local levels to develop systems and programs that work while walking alongside the women on their journeys to freedom and wellness. Oman has encountered several agencies currently working on goals that coincide with the work of the Free Campaign.The Wisconsin Resource Center, for example, has programs in place to give women valuable skills to succeed. “They teach them about using dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing psychotherapy (EMDR), and empowerment.” She says the Free Campaign is advocating for expanding these programs as well as creating its avenues to encourage success. Christal Arroyo in Milwaukee, Latoya Greer Bey in Madison, and Nycki Wallsch in Chippewa Valley are the campaign’s three community organizers. Each of these women has been impacted by the justice system and walk with other women while continuing to write their stories. “I want each woman to know she is so much more than the total of the worst things that have happened to her. She is capable of navigating through her past and
preparing for reentry into society offer limited options for career training. “There are only a few different routes they can take. Cosmetology is one. That’s fantastic if that’s what you want to do. But if it’s not, then you have to consider something like an administrative assistant. The waiting lists for those programs are long. And, even then, that’s not a living wage job for most of the opportunities that are available.” Oman says women returning from prison need positions that will help them
provide for themselves as well as any children in their care. “When we look at reintegration for these women, we have to look at ways of healing those traumatic experiences. How do they reconnect with their children? How do they reestablish bonds that could have been lost? We have to look at empowering women to succeed personally and professionally.” She says there are also stigmas attached to mothers who are in prison that many
men with children do not experience. “Many people ask, ‘How could you choose drugs or men or relationships over your children?’ People don’t say that to men. I’m not saying it’s never difficult for men, but the shame that’s attached to how women should behave is completely different. I’ve yet to meet
“These women need to be able to breathe, get out of survival mode, and heal.”
transforming her life in a way that offers some hope for her children. We all win when people are engaged, healthy, and contributing to their families and communities.That’s public safety.”
-Tamra Oman
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