Silja Talvi  born in Helisinski Finland is currently in Seattle where she is writing a book about women and incarceration ( Seal Press/Avalon).  She is an investigative journalist and senior editor for In These Times.  Silja states “every year, American taxpayers fund an estimated $60 billion for our incarceration system. This system staples together a network of public and corporate-run jails, prisons, pre- and post-release centers, juvenile detention centers and boot camps. All together, these facilities hold well over 2 million human beings, locked away without public oversight or scrutiny”.  www.thenation.com. 

    Most inmates will leave the jail setting and return back to the community.  Those who entered the jail in a state of crisis will return back to the streets with the same crisis due to inadequate transitioning planning.  Without transitional planning it compromises public safety, increases homelessness, suicide, behavioral and health problems, new criminal offenses and re-arrest.  With more than 650,000 prisoners being released nationwide each year, policymakers and practitioners at the federal, state, and local levels must provide offenders with resources and linkages to agencies to assists them with a good transition back into society. 

    The Lake County Correctional system continues to address the issues of transitioning back into society through the development and growth of the Women In Transition Through Support program (W.I.T.T.S.).  The program is geared towards facilitating quality changes in the lives of female offenders.   

        The W.I.T.T.S. program was created to offer on site services and support for women during incarceration, as well as providing them with continued resources and linkage to agencies within the area that can assist them in making a good transition back to the community and to their family. 

    W.I.T.T.S. is funded by Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, the ADAMS Board and The United Way of Lake County.  A Grant and monies received from the above listed agencies in the amount of $50,320.00 operates the program.  A portion of the money was used to hire Maureen O’Hara as a Liasion for the program in 2005 to assist the female offenders with transitional planning during incarceration and upon release.  The remaining funds were used to purchase equipment, supplies, emergency hotel expenses for releases, rental assistance, gas cards and Giant Eagle food cards. 

    The program offers the female population services such as a Victim’s Assistance group that focuses on being a Victim, Female support Group, Parenting Classes, Yoga Classes, Making a Change and internships through the General Health Department, Art Therapy and Employment series.  

    The “Female Support” group focuses on stress associated with being in jail.  It helps the women deal with problem solving, trust, goal planning, anger management and many other topics dealing with stress.  The sessions are conducted by Maureen O’Hara of Neighboring on Tuesday mornings and averages 8 women per session with a total of 273 women attending for the year. 

    The “Victim’s” Of Domestic Violence class is held on Tuesday afternoon  with Joan Boswell from Forbes House . The session basically focuses on being a “Victim” and learning how to cope. Presently through the Drug and Alcohol program Joan also comes in once a month to speak on Domestic Violence. The group averages 12 women per session with a total of 294 women attending for the year. 

    The “Parenting Class” aides in assisting women with dealing with their children from a new born to adulthood.  The group focuses on setting children up for success as well as trying to become a better parent. The group addresses topics on having a healthy relationships with children and coping with stress that can be associated with raising children.  The group meets every other Wednesday and averages 12 women per session with a total attendance of 333 for the year.  The sessions are conducted by Terri Worthington from the Ohio State University Extension and Amy Korsch of CrossRoads.  On the off weeks the “Speakers Series” covers topics such as nutrition, money management, job preparation and resume writing, child custody, housing, education and more.         

    The “Yoga” class focuses on a healthy mind and body.  The group meets on Thursday and averages 21 women per session with a total attendance of 370 women for the year. The class is conducted by Anne Ondrey www.tondrey999@aol.com.  

    The “Making Change” group meets on Friday’s and is facilitated by Mary Ring of the Women’s Center at Lakeland Community College.  The group averages 4 women per session.  Mary’s group focuses’ on how do we change, barriers to change, deciding what to change and developing a change plan.  The women that attend have to be committed to four weeks of attendance in order for the sessions to be effective. 

By the numbers:  

A total of 1373 women participated in the W.I.T.T.S. program for 2007

Maureen has worked individually with 72 women in 2007. 

What’s New With W.I.T.T.S. !!!!!!

The W.I.T.T.S. program has created a library specifically for the female inmates at the Lake County Jail. The W.I.T.T.S. Committee received donations from various community members and agencies.  The books cover a wide array of topics with the majority focusing on self improvement and empowerment. The female inmates will benefit from the generosity of community members for years to come.  

In September of 2007 W.I.T.T.S. began offering a series of Monday Workshops. The workshops are comprised of art therapy and employment training.  W.I.T.T.S. is currently working on adding a creative writing group to the workshops. 

 Art therapy uses the creative process to improve and enhance the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.  Marilyn Urbanski of NEIGHBORING www.neighboring.org, volunteers her time and talents to the W.I.T.T.S. program and truly encourages the women to utilize their creativity in a positive light.  Art therapy has received such an overwhelming positive response from the female inmates that we will begin offering it twice a month starting in January.  

The employment workshop titled “Tips for a Better Life” focuses on the basic guidelines for seeking employment upon release. A volunteer from a local temp agency shares her personal story of hardship and triumph in an effort to inspire the female inmates. Kathie uses a combination of life experiences and handouts to educate the inmates. Such topics as how to fill out an application, how to answer tough interview questions, dressing appropriately, and resume writing are some of the topics covered.  Kathie reenergizes the women and gives them hope that they will be able to find employment upon release. 

WI.T.T.S. now has an After Care Group which meets every Tuesday 6pm -8pm at Victoria’s Place (Painesville Square).  Topics such as utilizing community resources, healthy relationships, money management, stress management, substance abuse employment and many more are addressed.  The women are referred through the Lake County Probation Departments and NEOPCAP. 

True Testimonial 

Dear Maureen: 

It's been a very gratifying experience meeting with the female participants of the WITTS program.   

I had an opportunity to attend a Christmas program in 2006 held by a church ministry group.  The group of inmates of the Lake County Jail included many young females.  Seeing so many young women that took a wrong turn, and made bad decisions for themselves took me back to my young adult days.  While I was never incarcerated, my start was somewhat rocky.  I was fortunate to have people in my life that seemed to care, and believed in me.  As a result, I was able to get my high school degree, raise three wonderful, contributing children that are college educated, and have now owned my own business for 20 years. 

I hope to share my story through the WITTS program, and hopefully let others know that while not easy, you can't give up and take what appears to be a short cut to succeed. 

Kindly, 

 Kathie

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) 

The W.I.T.T.S. program is in the process of incorporating/initiating a new service delivery approach called Trauma Informed Care (TIC).  Trauma Informed Care recognizes that almost all of those seeking services in the public health system have histories of trauma.   Trauma is a broadly defined term used to characterize many different kinds of insults and events. A traumatic event is one in which “a person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event(s) that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury or threat to physical integrity of self or others.” (APA, 2000, DSM-IV-TR) The W.I.T.T.S. program recognizes that trauma has had a large impact on the female offender population. Among 150 women offenders, over 70% report experiencing severe physical violence from a childhood or adolescent acquaintance, caretaker, or parent.  While 59% report childhood sexual molestation (Browne, Miller, and Maguin, 1999).  W.I.T.T.S. is working on creating a group forwomen who have experienced trauma and are in need of a support system.