The Davis Projects for Peace Proposal: Summer 2010

Project Freedom

Sara Townsend Class of 2012 Goal To improve the lives of formerly incarcerated women by providing skills necessary for higher education and personal expression, and to build those women’s self-esteems, creative capacities, and leadership capabilities.

Background: Needs and Solutions , with the highest incarceration rates in the , jailed 10,454 women in 2003, a 497% increase from 1983.1 In comparison, the total population of California grew by 43% from 1980 to 2000, of which women constituted a relatively consistent 50%.2 This extraordinary growth in the female inmate population, part of an overall expansion of California jailing, has generated unprecedented strains on California’s resources, often leaving parolees and released prisoners at the mercy of their environments. With fewer spaces at rehabilitation centers than needed, California experiences soaring recidivism rates, maintained in the last few years at an astonishing 70%.3 With this daunting statistic blocking the path to freedom, former prisoners require extensive assistance upon release, especially those who have spent many years in jail (particularly those serving life sentences, so-called “lifers”). Seeking to fill the needs of these long-term and lifer parolees, Crossroads, Inc. in Claremont, California serves women released from the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), the California Institution for Women (CIW), and the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW). Providing counseling and employment services at no cost to the resident, Crossroads forwards the causes of personal growth and self-sufficiency. Though rehabilitation and job counseling services remain constant at Crossroads, the non-profit nature of the organization limits the availability of other enrichment programs, forcing staff to rely on volunteers for supplemental activities. It is into this equation that I would like to add a sustainable education program, one that will provide support and services for women interested in pursuing high school or college degrees. Of the women currently at Crossroads, more than half have expressed interest, unprompted, in attending school; many have also expressed uncertainty in their ability to succeed without help and preparation. In response, I held an assessment meeting with Sister Terry Dodge, director of Crossroads, and developed a program that will operate in a multiplicity of ways. The program will prepare women for reentry into the world of education, will develop in women invaluable life skills for an increasingly technological world, will encourage personal growth, critical thinking, team building, and leadership skills, and will develop creative capacities and personal initiative, to name a few of its anticipated benefits. I will continue the program into the school year, operating with the support of student volunteers from the (Claremont McKenna College, , , , and Scripps College). The women of Crossroads were often denied opportunities for education before their crimes, a factor which contributed to their current situations. They were physically or sexually abused, introduced at young ages to alcohol and drugs, and generally devalued. Education, “traditionally… the backbone of rehabilitation,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,4 will give these women new hope and reduce their chances of recidivism, promoting the cause of peace by producing greater tranquility of the mind and soul and stronger, safer communities.

Project Plan

College/Adult School Preparation: I will prepare and conduct a series of seminars and workshops aimed at developing practical skills necessary for school success. Sessions will address such topics as time management and study skills, note taking, test taking skills, and writing skills. Additionally, I will conduct financial aid and college information sessions, which will be followed up with application sessions, during which interested women will complete both FAFSA and scholarship forms and school applications. (Relevant schools in the area include Cal Poly Pomona, Chaffey College, Citrus College, Coastline Community College, Mt. San Antonio College, and the Pomona Adult Learning Center.)

Computer Skills: In conjunction with the school preparation seminars, I will plan and conduct a computer skills course. I will purchase Netbooks for each of the participants, and will teach basic computer use and maintenance, internet use, Word processor skills, Excel skills, and PowerPoint skills. I will also help women set up email accounts and guide them through basic usage guidelines.

Liberal Arts Seminar: With the intention of encouraging leadership abilities, team work, critical engagement, and a love of learning, I will develop a seminar in conjunction with the women. Individual women will introduce topics of interest, on which everyone will take a vote. Women can then decide on their levels of involvement in planning for the seminar, and can help gather materials, lead part of the discussion, or, if uninterested in either, can simply attend. Feedback from the women, either verbal or in the form of an assessment survey, and the number of topics suggested will determine how many seminar discussions will be planned.

Community Outreach and Creative Expression: From my assessment seminar with Sister Terry, I learned that most of the women at Crossroads have creative tendencies. In response to this, I will set up a blog the women can help design. The blog will host whatever the women wish to create (for example: creative writing pieces, drawings, paintings, photos, et cetera). There will also be an “Achievements” section in which women can share their personal triumphs with the larger Claremont and California community. A link to this blog will be included on the Crossroads home page, and may be included in Crossroads advocacy materials. Additionally, I will conduct workshops in which women can receive feedback on their creative pieces.

Sustainability: Drawing from the school preparation and computer skills seminars, I will create resource books for future Crossroads women. When classes begin in the Fall of 2010, I will follow-up with participants, and, where the demand exists, I will set up tutoring/partnership programs with volunteers from the Claremont colleges.

(Note: My teaching method in all classes will recognize the women as independent, intelligent people with valid opinions and skills. Discussion and individual contributions will be consistently encouraged.)

Personal Qualifications I am dual majoring in English and Gender/Women’s Studies at Scripps College. I have been volunteering at Crossroads since October 2009, sending out advocacy letters and interacting one-to- one with the women there. I have a variety of experience in the field of education and instruction: In the 2008-09 school year, I was employed by Jumpstart America (I taught underprivileged preschool children); in the summer of 2009, I was a teacher’s aide at Oakwood Academy Preschool in Long Beach, California; this school year I work at the Scripps College Writing Center, tutoring peers in English and composition. I currently serve as vice president on my dormitory’s hall council, and I play on a softball team, working with team members to organize events and practices. I have studied issues of the prison industrial complex in multiple classes, as well as on my own and at Crossroads.

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