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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
RE-ENTRY CONFERENCE
We are on the Web!
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The question begs to be asked, who benefits from the Mentoring Program?
The answer is: We ALL do. Why and how? We prepare the mentees for re-entry
into society. While the mentees are here, we encourage growth and
opportunity. We assist in the path of education and employment with sound
work ethics. We share all that we know from our experiences and with
positive feedback , we make a significant difference in the quality of
their stay. As mentors, we provide a listening ear with compassion and
understanding. We also encourage them to take part in the Re-Entry and
Volunteer Activity Coordinator Programs. We assist in school assignments,
writing and journaling. Warden Shell and Capt. Hanna along with Maryland
Judges , Maryland State Department of Education staff. Anne Arundel
Community College Staff as well as MCIW have given 100% support and have
college classes beginning in January 2009. They value the mentoring
program and with their passion and belief in the program and in the
mentors, we are making a difference. I am the coordinator for the mentoring program and personally use many visual aids and hand-out materials. With this, I earn their trust first, then, I make contact with their inner soul. Human nature dictates, that we become very interested in knowing oneself and in being heard and cared about. It might be the first time anyone has ever taken the time to get to know them and care about the quality of their lives. We experience many things with our mentees; and in the process, make them laugh, think, cry, and, through this process, the mentees learn to deal with past hurts and begin the healing process. We all have a time in our lives where that little window in our brain opens for a brief moment when we are ready to have an open mind to receive help if someone is only there to guide us and, that is what mentors do for their mentees. Journey along with me, and let’s see where the journey takes us. Many thanks to Captain Hanna and the MCIW staff, in our journey, for all the mentors who continue to help others, and, in turn, they also receive help and growth.
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Building
Bridges for Female Offenders: Today and Tomorrow |
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Men and women are different, and that doesn’t change when they’re behind bars. “I see these women and girls everyday in my facility and I know they face different challenges at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, South Carolina Department of Corrections maximum security facility for females in Columbia, South Carolina. On May 5, Ms. Anderson and others explored the subject during a one day conference, titled “Building Bridges for Female Offenders: Today and Tomorrow.” The event, held at the Brookland Banquet and Conference Center was sponsored by the South Carolina Correctional Association’s Task Force on Adult and Juvenile Female Offenders and focused on reducing female incarceration and strengthening community safety. Several experts from across the corrections spectrum attended the conference. South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice Director Bill Byars was the keynote speaker and opened with an impassioned call to improve conditions for female offenders. He talked about inheriting a juvenile justice system that was failing to the needs of female juvenile offenders. Girls were dressing in boys clothing and living in slums, he said. “To see the way we were treating girls made me angry,” Mr. Byars said. Fueled by the need to make things better, Mr. Byars, a former judge, sought and attained funding to open a girls wilderness camp, a school specifically for young females and put girls back in feminine clothing. His agency taught young women to respect themselves. “You’ve got to say ‘These are my children,’” he said. “These are not somebody else’s children. These are South Carolina’s children.” Rosetta Butler, a correctional officer at Camille Graham, attended the event. After nine years with SCDC, she said she continues to learn new things to help offenders. “I want to learn anything that can help me better myself and better the inmate and help them not come back,” she said. “If I influence just one, that’s all I ask.”
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