How many of you think back to childhood and remember the joy of summer camp? I remember it seemed to take forever for the school year to end and the hot, sticky summer to begin. While the days flew by too fast, I had magnificent weeks of summer camp wedged in between the school years. Day camp or sleep-away camp, it didn't matter, it was a great way to do something fun and to be independent of teachers, parents and all the other structures of my childhood. I see the same joy through my daughter's eyes this summer; she has been totally and completely wrapped in the sweet dirt, sun, and water that I remember as a child.
So, as much as I LOVE summer camp, I have to say I was astounded to learn about summer day camp at the Indiana Women's Prison (IWP). I first learned about the summer camp ten years ago through a partnership with the former YWCA and I had to see it to believe it. I couldn't imagine how and why. Once I spent a day there, I was an immediate convert and an ardent supporter.
The summer camp at IWP was started as a week-long day camp for children whose mothers participated in the Family Preservation Program (see earlier posts). Each day the children would come to IWP and participate in the kind of day camp activities they might do anywhere else, except at this day camp the kids do everything with their mothers. Crafts, games, songs, skits, snacks, camp lunch ... you name it; they did it. The grounds of IWP remind me of a small college; old brick buildings, a pretty green lawn, simple but nice landscaping. So summer camp there seemed summery, not scary behind big bars.
The children had a unique opportunity to bond with their mothers and to also connect with other children who understand completely the feeling of having a mother who is incarcerated. No one had to explain themselves or feel ashamed, they just knew and it was okay. For the children who didn't live close-by, in the evenings they were able to spend the night at the facility of another child-serving organization and have the opportunity to debrief about the days activities. For the mothers, this opportunity was unlike anything else they experienced throughout the year. A taste of home, love, and the opportunity to really connect with their children ... a hope for what the future might be like when they leave prison.
The economy has taken a toll on summer camp. Today the experience is just one day on the weekend; a far cry from the week with mom several years ago. It's unfortunate but the DOC doesn't have the extra money or the extra staff to support the huge endeavor of a week long camp. So while I am sad about this change and think of the missed opportunities for children and mothers, I do understand. I would much rather have critical programming such as education and job training stay in place. I would much rather see the Family Preservation Program with it's extended visitation throughout the year stay in place.
For those of us who can hug our children every day and tell them how much we love them ... don't forget to do it!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Family Preservation @ The Indiana Women's Prison
Hi - it's Jennifer again ... I have been interested to see the recent spate of newspaper articles and stories on the news about our state prison system. I think it is a natural reaction for many people to roll their eyes and not have sympathies towards those who are incarcerated; afterall, they have committed crimes and deserve to be punished. Agreed. However, I think it is critical for everyone in our community to understand it benefits all of us if offenders have access to programming to help pave the way for successful re-entry into our community. This means proper healthcare, alcohol/drug/addictions counseling, education, job training, and parenting classes.
Women's Fund has long supported the Family Preservation Program at the Indiana Women's Prison (IWP) because we believe a woman is more likely to live a lawful life and not re-offend if she has the tools necessary to be a good mother. So what does this mean?
Unless a mother has committed a crime against her child, she doesn't necessarily lose legal custody of that child when she goes to prison. Typically her mother, sister, aunt, neighbor, friend agrees to take care of the child/ren during her absence. That can be comforting to the mother knowing someone she knows will care for her child. However, care for that child can be difficult. If the caregiver doesn't have legal custody, they aren't able to access medical/dental care, school records, public benefits, etc.
Several years ago Women's Fund gave funding to hire a social worker who would work with the caregivers to ensure they were able to access the services the children needed in order to be healthy, educated, well-fed, etc.
Additionally, Women's Fund has provided support to the Family Preservation Program at IWP which allows a mother and child to have more intimate visitations than allowed in the typical visitation room. If a mother participates in appropriate parenting classes and meets other requirements set forth by IWP, she can be allowed up to eight hours a month of visitation with her child/ren in a family room setting. The mother and child/ren can read stories, play games, have snacks, and spend special time together. The opportunity to create and nuture this bond is important to the emotional well-being of mother and children, leads to successful reconnections upon the mother's release, and provides a powerful motivation for the mother to stay on a good track while incarcerated and then to be successful upon re-entry.
The women who have participated in the Family Preservation Program are significantly less likely to re-offend than women who have not. I once heard a statistic from a former superintendent at IWP that goes like this: 60% of all offenders will re-offend, 40% of women will re-offend, 27% of women at IWP will re-offend and only 9% of the women who participate in Family Preservation will re-offend. I cannot verify if those statistics from ten years ago still hold true. I can tell you the pattern is likely to be very consistent.
Women's Fund is proud to be a part of helping the women at Indiana Women's Prison stay connected to their families and prepare for successful re-entry.
Women's Fund has long supported the Family Preservation Program at the Indiana Women's Prison (IWP) because we believe a woman is more likely to live a lawful life and not re-offend if she has the tools necessary to be a good mother. So what does this mean?
Unless a mother has committed a crime against her child, she doesn't necessarily lose legal custody of that child when she goes to prison. Typically her mother, sister, aunt, neighbor, friend agrees to take care of the child/ren during her absence. That can be comforting to the mother knowing someone she knows will care for her child. However, care for that child can be difficult. If the caregiver doesn't have legal custody, they aren't able to access medical/dental care, school records, public benefits, etc.
Several years ago Women's Fund gave funding to hire a social worker who would work with the caregivers to ensure they were able to access the services the children needed in order to be healthy, educated, well-fed, etc.
Additionally, Women's Fund has provided support to the Family Preservation Program at IWP which allows a mother and child to have more intimate visitations than allowed in the typical visitation room. If a mother participates in appropriate parenting classes and meets other requirements set forth by IWP, she can be allowed up to eight hours a month of visitation with her child/ren in a family room setting. The mother and child/ren can read stories, play games, have snacks, and spend special time together. The opportunity to create and nuture this bond is important to the emotional well-being of mother and children, leads to successful reconnections upon the mother's release, and provides a powerful motivation for the mother to stay on a good track while incarcerated and then to be successful upon re-entry.
The women who have participated in the Family Preservation Program are significantly less likely to re-offend than women who have not. I once heard a statistic from a former superintendent at IWP that goes like this: 60% of all offenders will re-offend, 40% of women will re-offend, 27% of women at IWP will re-offend and only 9% of the women who participate in Family Preservation will re-offend. I cannot verify if those statistics from ten years ago still hold true. I can tell you the pattern is likely to be very consistent.
Women's Fund is proud to be a part of helping the women at Indiana Women's Prison stay connected to their families and prepare for successful re-entry.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Indiana Women in Prison
The front page of today's Indianapolis Star tells a story we are, unfortunately, familiar with at Women's Fund. In the past eight years, the number of women incarcerated in Indiana has risen 61%. If you read the article (if you click on the title of this blog post, you will be directed to the article on the IndyStar website), you can discover the varied reasons why; as you might imagine, drug use/abuse is a huge contributing factor.
The article doesn't mention how domestic violence contributes to crime activity, but we know from our work with the Indiana Women's Prison that many women are there due to an abusive relationship: being force to drive the getaway car, carry the drugs or stolen items, etc. and sometimes, the women are there because they committed a crime against the abuser in retaliation for the abuse.
Women's Fund has had a long relationship with the Indiana Women's Prison (IWP). Some may ask why? There are several reasons, the most signficant being that with few exceptions, the women who are incarcerated at IWP will be released and return to living in our community. We want to help support programming that will give these women a good head start in being successful contributors to our community, as opposed to a continued drain on the community.
We also know the children of incarcerated mothers are among the most vulnerable and marginalized children in our community; by providing support to programs to help mothers with parenting classes and opportunities to connect and bond with their children, they have even more motivation to be successful upon release.
Women's Fund has provided significant grants to the Indiana Women's Prison over the past ten years. I will highlight the three major areas (Family Preservation, summer camp, and the new Nursery) in the next several blog entries.
The Department of Corrections has announced they will be moving women out of the 100 year-old Women's Prison to a new facility. How will this impact the women and the services they receive? I am not sure. As a member of the Community Advisory Board of the Indiana Women's Prison, I have been in touch with the Superintendent, Steve McAuley to learn more about the situation and will continue to do so in the months ahead. At this point, I don't know much more than has been in the papers, it seems like there is still a lot of work to be done in the planning and implementation process. Look for updates from me in this blog.
The article doesn't mention how domestic violence contributes to crime activity, but we know from our work with the Indiana Women's Prison that many women are there due to an abusive relationship: being force to drive the getaway car, carry the drugs or stolen items, etc. and sometimes, the women are there because they committed a crime against the abuser in retaliation for the abuse.
Women's Fund has had a long relationship with the Indiana Women's Prison (IWP). Some may ask why? There are several reasons, the most signficant being that with few exceptions, the women who are incarcerated at IWP will be released and return to living in our community. We want to help support programming that will give these women a good head start in being successful contributors to our community, as opposed to a continued drain on the community.
We also know the children of incarcerated mothers are among the most vulnerable and marginalized children in our community; by providing support to programs to help mothers with parenting classes and opportunities to connect and bond with their children, they have even more motivation to be successful upon release.
Women's Fund has provided significant grants to the Indiana Women's Prison over the past ten years. I will highlight the three major areas (Family Preservation, summer camp, and the new Nursery) in the next several blog entries.
The Department of Corrections has announced they will be moving women out of the 100 year-old Women's Prison to a new facility. How will this impact the women and the services they receive? I am not sure. As a member of the Community Advisory Board of the Indiana Women's Prison, I have been in touch with the Superintendent, Steve McAuley to learn more about the situation and will continue to do so in the months ahead. At this point, I don't know much more than has been in the papers, it seems like there is still a lot of work to be done in the planning and implementation process. Look for updates from me in this blog.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Learning the Lingo
Most of us tend to use a specific vocabulary, or set of words, among our friends and family groups, coworkers, and organizations we are involved with. Women's Fund of Central Indiana and Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) are no exception. One of the terms I struggled with when I first joined the Women's Fund team is fundamental to our work today and in the future: endowment. A more sophisticated philanthropist would probably not be challenged by this word. I, however, rarely had a reason to use this term before, so here are some things I have learned.
An endowment is a permanent fund; the assets are invested to generate income and the principle is never spent, ensuring the permanence of the fund. This is different from giving to a specific organization at one moment in time, where a donation is usually spent within the same year.
While an endowment tends to grow in good economic times and shrink in bad ones, the investment is in the long term. Women's Fund is fortunate to have our endowment through CICF, especially in the current economy; our combined assets connect us to a more diverse investment pool than if we were on our own.
The needs of women and girls in central Indiana will change over time. To accomodate for these ever-changing needs, granting from the Women's Fund endowment will flexibly adapt over time. Our endowment grows over time thanks to donors who have long-term confidence in us. This growth allows more dollars to be granted back into the community every year. Women's Fund will proudly and responsibly steward these dollars for generations to come, thanks to our permanent, flexible endowment.
An endowment is a permanent fund; the assets are invested to generate income and the principle is never spent, ensuring the permanence of the fund. This is different from giving to a specific organization at one moment in time, where a donation is usually spent within the same year.
While an endowment tends to grow in good economic times and shrink in bad ones, the investment is in the long term. Women's Fund is fortunate to have our endowment through CICF, especially in the current economy; our combined assets connect us to a more diverse investment pool than if we were on our own. 
The needs of women and girls in central Indiana will change over time. To accomodate for these ever-changing needs, granting from the Women's Fund endowment will flexibly adapt over time. Our endowment grows over time thanks to donors who have long-term confidence in us. This growth allows more dollars to be granted back into the community every year. Women's Fund will proudly and responsibly steward these dollars for generations to come, thanks to our permanent, flexible endowment. Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Taking a Charitable Staycation
Are you being inundated with requests for charitable gifts this year? Are your inboxes and mailboxes full of invitations, stories, and pulls to your heartstrings? Are you finding yourself challenged by how to respond when your financial situation is different than in the past? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you can empathize with the way Women's Fund is feeling in 2009. Our endowment losses in 2008 were significant, the economic pressure on the organizations we support is growing, and women and girls have greater needs than ever before. How will Women's Fund meet the challenges presented by all of these scenarios?
Women's Fund considered how to best tackle the significant downshift in funding available and recognized, just like families on a budget, maybe we have to think about staycation instead of a fabulous vacation to favorite stomping grounds or exploring new and exciting cities. For us a staycation means staying true to our three key priority areas: caregiving, domestic violence, and insufficient income. The fabulous vacation that will have to wait includes: all the other important programming and services to help women and girls increase their physical and mental well-being.
In 2009, our Grants Committee will be considering how they can make grants to continue to provide core services in each of our three priority areas by asking the following three questions: do children have a safe and affordable place to go while Mom is at work or school; is there a safe shelter for women and their children to seek when escaping violence; and, are women able to gain and maintain employment allowing them to take care of themselves and their families without depending on the goodwill of others?
If you are a donor to Women's Fund, thank you! I promise to you that our Grants Committee, Advisory Board, and staff are sincerely committed to making sure the gift you entrusted to us will continue have a significant impact during the economic turmoil facing many non-profits and their clients in our community. Thank you for helping us create options and opportunities for women and girls who may often feel like they don't have many of either and certainly need someone to believe and them and encourage them on their journey.
As always, I appreciate your interest in and support of Women's Fund.
Women's Fund considered how to best tackle the significant downshift in funding available and recognized, just like families on a budget, maybe we have to think about staycation instead of a fabulous vacation to favorite stomping grounds or exploring new and exciting cities. For us a staycation means staying true to our three key priority areas: caregiving, domestic violence, and insufficient income. The fabulous vacation that will have to wait includes: all the other important programming and services to help women and girls increase their physical and mental well-being.
In 2009, our Grants Committee will be considering how they can make grants to continue to provide core services in each of our three priority areas by asking the following three questions: do children have a safe and affordable place to go while Mom is at work or school; is there a safe shelter for women and their children to seek when escaping violence; and, are women able to gain and maintain employment allowing them to take care of themselves and their families without depending on the goodwill of others?
If you are a donor to Women's Fund, thank you! I promise to you that our Grants Committee, Advisory Board, and staff are sincerely committed to making sure the gift you entrusted to us will continue have a significant impact during the economic turmoil facing many non-profits and their clients in our community. Thank you for helping us create options and opportunities for women and girls who may often feel like they don't have many of either and certainly need someone to believe and them and encourage them on their journey.
As always, I appreciate your interest in and support of Women's Fund.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Transforming Lives through Training and Education
Hi, I'm Abigail Coleman, Women's Fund Development Officer. I am excited to contribute to the conversation about issues impacting women and girls and am interested in our collective efforts to lessen them. I hope our blog will inspire additional conversation - and action - around these issues.As a native central Indiana Hoosier, I am fortunate to have been a part of the Women’s Fund team for nearly a year now. It has been enlightening to engage through the lens of Women's Fund. I'm learning about organizations playing a significant role in the success of our community, many of which I previously knew little or nothing about.
Thanks to great family support and encouragement, I am a graduate of Ball State University and SPEA at Indiana University Indianapolis. I am grateful for my family's support and as a result, I aspire to continue to make positive contributions to our community both professionally and personally. With this fortune, I often find myself asking: What about those who do not have the resources? And those whose support network is fragile, such as domestic violence victims? I’ve found some of the answers through Women's Fund, our funding focuses, and some amazing central Indiana nonprofits.
With the economic woes that have stricken our community and world, nonprofits are relied upon more heavily right now; those funded by Women's Fund in core funding areas of caregiving, domestic violence, and insufficient income are as relevant now as ever. Organizations such as Women's Fund grant recipient Training, Inc. provide services to those who do not have the support or resources and are hit even harder by the current economy.
The core function of Training, Inc. is to provide career training for people living in poverty in Marion County. 80% of clients are women, 77% of these women are single mothers with an average of 2 children each and 16% of these women have at one time been in a domestic violence relationship.
Through the Career Track program, Training, Inc. participants receive training in computer skills, resume development, job searching, professional etiquette and attire, and even create and execute a business plan by running a simulated business.
As I saw during a recent site visit, the expectations for program participants are high; participants must clock in and out and excessive tardiness may result in removal from the program! Training, Inc. graduates are truly prepared for the workplace and have high job placement and one-year retention rates as a result.What a wonderful alignment with our goals! We recently awarded a grant for board development, succession planning, technology upgrades, and a fundraising database, which we hope will help it continue to succeed in the long-term. I am proud we fund Training, Inc., as it serves an important role in the success and empowerment of women, children, and families in our community.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence: Educating Children
Hi - it's Jennifer ... We have read a lot lately on the front page of The Indianapolis Star about extreme domestic violence; it seems like idyllic families and neighborhoods have been shattered by unimaginable violence. It makes me feel fortunate to be a part of a family where everyone treats each other with kindness and respect ... and, when my children don't, they learn through reasonable and appropriate consequences.
The domestic violence statistics continue to be staggering. The only thing new to me lately is the attention the most recent violence has received in the media. Unfortunately, domestic violence occurs every day all across this city; families of every socio-economic background experience violence in their homes. Why?
We know children imitate their parents in all we do ... the good and the bad. Our actions speak louder than our words. What if our words and our actions are loud and harmful? If a child grows up in a home where people scream, yell, hit, isolate, degrade, punish, etc. how will they know this isn't okay. If the only behaviors modeled are negative, children will expect to be treated this way in other relationship and will also use these same actions in how they communicate.
I am really proud of a $150,000 grant Women's Fund gave to the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center (RLHEC) two years ago for them to provide three-years of healthy relationships programming to 5th and 7th graders in IPS. The partnership with IPS is important because they do not have funding available to access this sort of programming. RLHEC created a curriculum to help the students learn to recognize appropriate behaviors and what to do if they are currently in or someday are part of an unhealthy relationship. Over a period of three school years, RLHEC will deliver this program to each 5th grader and each 7th grader one time a year; in year three the seventh graders will be having a great follow-up lesson.
It is the hope of Women's Fund that this programming will help break the cycle of violence. Every time a child has the opportunity to learn a positive behavior or a better way to respond to someone else's negative behavior, they have one more chance at a better life.
If you or someone you know is in danger, please seek help. The best place to start is by calling 2-1-1.
Thank you for your interest in and support of Women's Fund.
The domestic violence statistics continue to be staggering. The only thing new to me lately is the attention the most recent violence has received in the media. Unfortunately, domestic violence occurs every day all across this city; families of every socio-economic background experience violence in their homes. Why?
We know children imitate their parents in all we do ... the good and the bad. Our actions speak louder than our words. What if our words and our actions are loud and harmful? If a child grows up in a home where people scream, yell, hit, isolate, degrade, punish, etc. how will they know this isn't okay. If the only behaviors modeled are negative, children will expect to be treated this way in other relationship and will also use these same actions in how they communicate.
I am really proud of a $150,000 grant Women's Fund gave to the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center (RLHEC) two years ago for them to provide three-years of healthy relationships programming to 5th and 7th graders in IPS. The partnership with IPS is important because they do not have funding available to access this sort of programming. RLHEC created a curriculum to help the students learn to recognize appropriate behaviors and what to do if they are currently in or someday are part of an unhealthy relationship. Over a period of three school years, RLHEC will deliver this program to each 5th grader and each 7th grader one time a year; in year three the seventh graders will be having a great follow-up lesson.
It is the hope of Women's Fund that this programming will help break the cycle of violence. Every time a child has the opportunity to learn a positive behavior or a better way to respond to someone else's negative behavior, they have one more chance at a better life.
If you or someone you know is in danger, please seek help. The best place to start is by calling 2-1-1.
Thank you for your interest in and support of Women's Fund.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Welcome!
Hi, this is Jennifer Pope Baker ... welcome to the first Women's Fund of Central Indiana blog post! Many thanks to our friends at M&I Bank for making this possible. We appreciate their partnership and support of our work.So, what can you expect from our new blog? News, information, and observations about issues facing women and girls in our community, stories about grants we have made, notes and photos from site visits, experiences regarding philanthropy, and hopefully we are always interesting. Look for updates every Tuesday and Thursday.
It's important for a writer to know their audience ... I think also for an audience to know their writer. So what perspective do I bring to the table? As the Director of Women's Fund for the past eleven years, I am deeply connected to and passionate about the work we do to increase options and opportunities for women and girls in our community. I feel an enormous responsibility to the organizations we fund, to make sure Women's Fund is creating grant opportunities that make sense and make life better not only for women and girls, but also for the organizations providing services. I feel a great privilege to be able to help people think strategically about their philanthropy. And, I feel honored to work with the talented, smart, dedicated board members who make our work a reality. I know how fortunate I am to truly love my job!
The most important thing to know about me is I am a working mother and wife. This colors my viewpoint on everything. I know what it feels like to try to make the best decision possible regarding childcare. I can't imagine what it would feel like if didn't know where my next dollar was coming from. I can't imagine how horrible it would be to not feel safe or feel like my children weren't safe. I do know, I would do anything in the world to keep my children safe.
Because of the many blessings in my life, I feel a great commitment to doing everything I can to help other women access affordable, quality childcare; to be safe from violence; and, have the ability to financially care for themselves and their families without depending on the goodwill of others.
I look forward to hearing your comments, thoughts and ideas. I hope this space becomes a place for great conversations about women, girls and philanthropy.
Thank you for your interest in and support of Women's Fund.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
