Education is Key to Violence Prevention

I was taken aback when reading the New York Times column posted on the Women's Fund Facebook page last week. The article highlighted a group of 14- and 15-year-old boys' "draft" of girls in their Maryland community. I won't go into the details, but you can read the column by clicking here. What may be viewed by some as innocent adolescent behavior may also foreshadow long-term issues with respect for women, which can lead to dating violence and domestic abuse. Objectifying women and girls diminishes a girl or woman's self-confidence and self-worth. It can have lasting impact on how she views relationships, and lead the offender (in this case, boys), to believe it is acceptable to treat others in this way.

The Indianapolis Star recently featured a program conducted at Westlane Middle School in Washington Township. Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships Initiative was implemented in all seventh-grade health classes last year, and will be spread to two more middle schools next year. A nationwide initiative, Start Strong is targeted to 11- to 14-year-olds, promoting healthy relationships as a way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse. The program is not only targeted to the students, but also engages educators, parents and caregivers, and policymakers. Start Strong Indianapolis reports:

• 11.6% of Indiana high school youth reported being hit, slapped, or physically hurt by their boyfriend/girlfriend.
• As many as 13.2% of females and 5.3% of males reported being physically forced into sexual intercourse.

These numbers are too high. Start Strong Indianapolis is partnering with Clarian Health to reach 4,000 students through engaging curriculum co-taught by peer advocates; to team with parents, healthcare providers, caregivers, coaches, and other youth serving organizations; and, to work with the Department of Education to enhance current policies through Indiana schools to address sexual harassment, bullying and violence.

Women's Fund is proud to be part of the solution, helping prevent domestic violence before it starts. Women's Fund has supported the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center's Healthy Relationships program for all 5th and 7th grade IPS students over three years. We are glad other groups are partnering together to champion and make violence prevention efforts a priority. These dedicated efforts will have long-term impact on the students involved and on the health and well-being of our community.

If you mentor a young person, I encourage you to keep communication lines open and make an effort to model and encourage healthy relationship behavior.

Community Centers and How They Care for Their Communities

As an OPTIONS alumnae, and a donor to Women’s Fund, I’m committed to learning more about where my dollars are going – and sharing with readers what I learn. This time, I decided to explore the community centers that Women’s Fund has funded, including Concord, Hawthorne and John H. Boner Community Centers. Each has received operational support from Women’s Fund so I was interested in learning what the centers do for their communities.

I had an interesting and enlightening conversation with Niki Girls, executive director, Concord Neighborhood Center. While I toured the Center through OPTIONS, it’s been awhile, so it was nice to reconnect with Niki. The topic of our discussion … the challenges in our neighborhoods and the role community centers play.

After 28 years at the helm, Niki has seen a lot in her community (Concord serves Indy’s south side). She has helped a lot of people and has made an incredible impact in the lives of south side children and families. One thing I quickly realized in our conversation is that a lot of people, including me, don’t know and understand the comprehensive services community centers provide. As Niki put it, “we’re here if you’re three or 93. It’s the nature of who we are.”

The challenges her families face today are probably no different than others in Central Indiana:

• Unemployment continues to be prevalent, challenging families who are searching for summer programs and activities for their children. Concord helps by lowering fees and subsidizing programs.


• Families are stretched financially during the summer with children at home, often times causing an increase in food, water and electrical bills. Concord helps with financial assistance.


• Working parents are looking for summer camps, programs and activities for their children. Although operating at capacity for day camp, Concord looks to ways to take care of as many kids as possible. They also have added teen programs two nights a week to give older kids in the neighborhood something to do (and to keep them out of trouble).

Niki credits Women’s Fund as one being instrumental in allowing them to continue serving families and individuals in their communities through their grant dollars. And after talking with Niki – and getting a sense of how passionate she is about her Center and “her families”, I felt proud that my contribution is supporting her in the work she does.

Redefining Beauty

I really enjoy helping people through volunteering. When I had the opportunity to lead Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis programs through Junior League, I jumped on it. Not only do I enjoy mentoring children - especially girls, but this was a perfect connection to our mission at Women's Fund.

This was my second time facilitating a Girls Inc. program - last fall, I lead a "Work it Out" program with girls age 6 to 8. This week, I finished up another program, "Redefining Beauty." In one-hour sessions over six weeks, I co-facilitated the program to about ten girls age 9 to 11 (3rd and 4th grade). This program covers a number of important topics, including:

• Defining what is real beauty.
• Looking who shapes our own concept of beauty, and thinking of positive influences, instead of negative ones.
• Beauty stereotypes in magazines - what's real, what's not.
• Creating awareness about eating disorders (the basics).
• Learning that our body is a resource, not an object.
• Specifically identifying "what makes me beautiful and unique", and practicing how to tell others about these qualities.
• Practicing how to recognize and affirm inner beauty in others.

Each session we led discussions and interactive activities with girls around these topics. Girls also had the opportunity to keep a personal journal each time, which they could take home at the end of the program.

Check back on the Women's Fund blog Thursday, when I will share more about my experience, including challenges faced and strides made with the girls.

Sniffles and summer vacation mean extra planning for moms

Today I was struck by my good fortune of having a strong network – particularly in terms of quality daycare, a good family who helps with the kids and the ability to tap into the great community resources available for working moms. I’m currently facing two situations that are not uncommon to working moms – a sick kid and planning for summer care. Both raise the question of balancing work and family responsibilities.

After shuffling schedules, cancelling a few meetings and attempting to get some work done (this blog being the last thing I will do before conceding to the sniffles and playing nurse to my sick one), I’ve successfully handled the first issue.

The second issue, however, takes a little more planning. While summer vacation is great for the kids, it’s often hard on working parents. Fortunately, there are a lot of great resources offered in Indianapolis – not surprising to know that several of them are supported by Women’s Fund of Central Indiana.

• Summer Camps: Women’s Fund has provided scholarships and operating support to Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis, Girls Inc. of Franklin/Johnson Co. and Girls Inc. of Shelbyville – all with the goal of providing safe, fun and affordable summer activities for girls.
• Day Care: Day Nursery Association of Indianapolis has been awarded several grants from Women’s Fund to help with its tuition assistance program, helping families afford excellent early care and education for young children.
• Community Centers: Concord Neighborhood Center, Hawthorne and John H. Boner Community Centers have all received operational support from Women’s Fund to allow them to continue serving families and individuals in their communities.

While my oldest will be attending various camps this summer (including Girls Inc. and Indy Parks); my youngest will continue to attend his daycare. Both will allow me to continuing working, while knowing they are in a safe place.

Challenged to make a difference by a group of kids

Give a few kids a video camera and see how they can inspire others. That’s just what Women’s Fund of Central Indiana did during their GO Family Philanthropy Day. Their creativity, passion and honesty are heartwarming, touching and motivating. They asked simple questions – and answered them with their own ideas of how they could change the world. In just two minutes, they made me think about ways I could make a difference (they also made me smile). Click here to see the video.

I know I’m already making a difference in some of the volunteer work I do throughout the community, but what can I do to do more? After watching the video, I realized there are simple things I could do that would make a difference. Serving on the boards of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Lacy Leadership Association, volunteering to serve meals at Wheeler Mission Ministries throughout the year and chairing the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure are all important work, but so is giving up something to give to others.

• Their simple ideas of buying less gum and giving away unwanted items to people in need are easy to do, so why not do it?
• Their idea of getting their friends together to start a club sounds fun, so why not get family friends together and start a project?

I’m going to take them up on their challenge. I don’t know how yet, because I want to involve my family. I always ask my kids to dig through their toys before their birthdays and donate unused toys, but is that what they really want to do? Maybe my 7 and 3-year-old have their own ideas of how they want to help others. We’ll soon find out.

I encourage you to take the challenge – and then share with us what you’re doing to make a difference. I’ll plan to report back in a month and share some of the ideas – and actions the Young family is doing. If you feel compelled to share your story, please do. We’d love to know what other Central Indiana families are doing to make a difference in our community.

GO Family Philanthropy Day: The Power of Half

Last Saturday, about 60 people, including 16 families, gathered for 2010 GO Family Philanthropy Day at the Indianapolis Art Center. This event provided a meaningful and enriching philanthropy education experience to parents whose children are involved in GO: Give Back.

The day featured speaker Joan Salwen, whose husband, Kevin, and teenage daughter, Hannah, wrote the book The Power of Half. Joan shared first-hand her family's story of coming to the decision to sell their home, moving into a home half the size, and donating half the proceeds to a cause they mutually agreed upon as a family. See teenage son Joseph Salwen's YouTube video for a great synopsis of their story.

After hearing the Salwen's story, families were divided into age-specific groups to explore concepts shared in The Power of Half, such as: "What's your half?" (What can you give?), "Follow your heart," and "Use your voice." Parents engaged in a group discussion with Joan to explore the topic, while intermediate ages worked on a PSA video project to share their message, and elementary ages engaged in interactive art projects. Preschool-age children were also included in the day's events with their own special activities.

The day concluded with a family art project and picnic lunch. To further connect the concept of giving half, half the expense budgeted for the day's food and all of the expense budgeted for an event token was saved, to be used for philanthropic purposes. School-age children participating in the fall GO: Give Back educational session will undergo a group grantmaking exercise to decide where to donate the funds.

The buzz in the air was unmistakable, and the day was truly a success. Women's Fund thanks The Glick Fund of CICF for making Family Philanthropy Day possible, as well as the volunteers and Indianapolis Art Center staff who led dynamic programs.

If you are interested in learning more about philanthropy education for children through GO: Give Back, please contact us.

New Law Designed to Prevent Teen Violence

Over the years, Central Indiana has experienced an increase in teen girls who are in more violent relationships. In 2005, 13.5% of Indiana high school girls reported they had experienced dating violence (had been hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend) in the last 12 months. This translates to approximately 5,000 Indianapolis area girls, ages 15-18, who experienced dating violence in one year alone.

As advocates for the prevention of teen violence and keeping our community's children safe, Women’s Fund was pleased to learn that on Monday, Governor Mitch Daniels signed “Heather’s Law” – a bill enabling schools to address dating violence through education programs and policies for girls and boys in grades 6 through 12. This was a great collaboration between many partners who developed Heather’s Law, demonstrating the importance of addressing this issue and reinforcing the importance of partnering to create change.

Violence among dating teenagers permeates many high schools and homes and cuts across every socioeconomic group. Teen violence is not new; however, it is a silent matter most adults do not recognize or accept easily, and therefore is not easily discussed and addressed. Teen violence proliferates from adult violence, often causing young children to repeat actions – or become victims of abuse. In fact, children witness 75% of all domestic violence incidents, and are, in turn, 1,500% more likely to become victims themselves.

Education is key. Heather’s Law has reinforced the importance of education and helping children – many of whom are in relationships for the first time and therefore don’t know and understand what constitutes healthy relationships. Women’s Fund has long supported community efforts that prevent violence, including funding a program through Ruth Lilly Heath Education Center designed to teach every IPS 5th and 7th grade student about healthy relationships annually for three years. In its final year, this program has become a national model and students have demonstrated increased knowledge of healthy relationships. This program, along with Heather's Law, are critical steps to reducing and ending violence among teens, and ultimately stopping its demonstrative cycle.

As a community, we must find a way to protect more young people from violence. While Heather’s Law requires the schools to take action, I believe it is the responsibility of everyone to take an active role in educating and supporting young children. It should be our role as adults to serve as mentors and positive role models so our children recognize abusive behavior and feel empowered to get help. What will you do to make a difference?

Inspired by a Victim of Child Abuse

Last week I attended a kick-off event for Child Abuse Prevention Month, hosted in partnership by Prevent Child Abuse America, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana and The Villages. Throughout the event, child advocates spoke about the importance of child abuse prevention and the devastating cycle of domestic violence. Statistics shared were stark. Each year, more than 20,000 Hoosier children are abused and neglected – that equates to 56 children being harmed every day and one child each week losing his or her young life to child abuse.

After hearing from Ebony, a young victim of child abuse and neglect, I realized we are all responsible for keeping Indiana’s children safe and secure. We are all responsible for treasuring, protecting, nurturing and teaching our children.

Walking away from the event I felt empowered to do something – to do something that could positively impact the life of a child. As I drove back to the office I thought about some of the programs Women’s Fund recently shared in a meeting with the Indianapolis Star – programs they fund that significantly impact the success of our city’s children. Programs such as Project Home Indy, which provides shelter for homeless pregnant teens; Juvenile Justice Program through Peace Learning Center, which teaches girls at Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility conflict resolution skills; and a program through Ruth Lilly Health Education Center that teaches all IPS 5th and 7th graders healthy relationships.

Indirectly, as an OPTIONS alumnae and donor to Women’s Fund, I am doing something to make a difference. My contribution is impacting programs that Women’s Fund supports. Their grants focused on insufficient income, inadequate caregiving choices and domestic abuse in the home are truly helping create a better life for women and children in our community. As I look for opportunities to do more, I will look to Women’s Fund to help me make a strategic, smart decision so I can continue to help girls like Ebony succeed. As an expert resource regarding issues impacting women and girls in central Indiana I have no doubt Women’s Fund will steer me in the right direction so I can continue making a difference for young girls in our community.

Cookies, badges and beyond: Women’s Fund and Girl Scouts

I’m fascinated by Girl Scout cookie time – fascinated by the dedication of the Troops selling them each weekend throughout the city; I’m fascinated by the mom’s helping to sell their daughter’s cookies; but mostly I’m fascinated by the lessons learned by Girl Scout cookie time. And wouldn’t you just know that as I was talking about Girl Scout cookies with Women’s Fund I learned something new about the organization… they helped create a Girl Scout Badge.

First, lessons learned:

• Education: My sister, a proud Troop leader and “cookie mom”, believes that selling cookies teaches the girls key business and communication skills. Not only are they learning to be confident in their communications skills (they can really work a deal at the grocery stores), but they are learning key business lessons as they sell cookies to support field trips and Troop activities (the more they sell, the more they earn).
  
• Philanthropy: A friend’s daughter showed me that cookie time teaches girls the value of philanthropy and community service. With just a few boxes left to sell, and knowing I had already purchased my fair share of cookies, she asked if I would be willing to donate cookies to military troops. She proceeded to tell me how the men and women overseas would enjoy a package of Girl Scout cookies as a special treat and a thank you for their service. I ended up buying three more boxes.

Now, about the badge and the connection with Women’s Fund. Women’s Fund actually helped create a Women’s Issue Patch that girls of all ages can earn. Girls explore topics such as staying healthy, caregiving responsibilities, philanthropy and finances. Click here to find out more about the badge and the activities girls can participate in to earn the Women’s Issue Patch.

In addition to the patch – and the purchase of numerous Girl Scout cookies, Women’s Fund has supported Girl Scouts of Central Indiana over the years. Grants to the organization have helped fund summer camp scholarships for girls, STUDIO 2B program for girls 11-17, volunteer trainings and Web enhancements.

Thankfully, Girl Scout cookie time isn’t year-round – my pocketbook and my waistline can’t afford it. However, the next time I’m asked to buy Thin Mints or Tagalongs, I’ll be reminded about the lessons the girls are learning and the role Women’s Fund of Central Indiana plays in supporting these future leaders.

Day Nursery: A Childcare Leader

Did you know: In central Indiana there are only 24 licensed childcare spots for every 100 children under the age of six whose caregivers work outside the home?

Women's Fund has awarded $830,000 to address caregiving challenges in central Indiana, funding organizations like Day Nursery Association of Greater Indianapolis.

Recently I had the opportunity to join Women's Fund OPTIONS participants and Advisory Board members at a site visit to Day Nursery's Northwest Center. I was fairly familiar with Day Nursery, but I had several "a-ha" moments during the visit. It was amazing to see first-hand the high-quality affordable care they provide to children, the assurance this care provides families, and the leadership they offer to other daycare providers in the community.

Prior to the visit, I knew that Day Nursery has fantastic facilities with great staff. I learned the teachers not only are encouraged to seek higher education, they receive paid time off to pursue studies and up to 90% assistance to complete a CDA, Associate or Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education. This education-focused culture not only helps Day Nursery retain employees and offer high-quality child care to families, it gives the employees a life-long foundation to better provide for their families.

In addition to meeting stringent requirements to be accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Day Nursery Centers are also in the Paths to QUALITY program through the Family and Social Services Administration, a statewide childcare quality ranking system. The requirements for both Paths to Quality and NAEYC are such that it can be difficult for childcares based in-home or in faith-based institutions to meet the requirements, due to limitations with their facilities and budgets. Day Nursery offers support to these providers, in addition to providing resources to parents through Child Care Answers.

Day Nursery offers many other wonderful benefits; at the Northwest Center, they serve 6 week-old children through kindergartners. Older children with special needs can access learning opportunities through Pike Township Schools. Children receive breakfast, lunch, and two snacks every day, and recreation time at the center's gym or playground. The Northwest Center also serves children of Pike Township High School students, allowing them the opportunity stay in school in order to graduate. Children at all Day Nursery centers have access to immunizations and health care services through on-site services provided by a Nurse Practitioner each month.

I am grateful for the quality childcare and leadership Day Nursery provides to our community, and I am proud of Women's Fund's long-standing support of their work.

Healthy Relationships: Among Many Ways to be Healthy

Recently we posted a question to our Women's Fund Facebook fans: "What makes you feel fit and healthy?" It was awesome to see the diverse responses of many of our fans (click here to see). It is so important to keep our health top-of-mind. Many things can come between us and good health; it depends on our eating habits, exercise, strong relationships, mental fitness, and more. I'm glad that there are campaigns to help us think about certain aspects of our health, such as breast or heart health. For example, February 5th was "Go Red for Women" day, where people wore red to raise awareness for women's heart health.

Last week, I had an opportunity to go to the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center, along with OPTIONS Alumnae member Melissa Averitt. Women's Fund provided a transformational grant of $150,000 in 2006 for the center to provide healthy relationships programming to all Indianapolis Public Schools 5th and 7th graders twice per year over three years. This is truly an amazing program focusing on an important area of overall health and well-being. We hope that this program will help break the cycle of domestic violence.

Melissa interviewed President Julian Peebles, Program Director Diana Ruschhaupt, and IPS School 39 5th grade teacher Aksa Shami, who shared the impact this program has made on students. Click here to learn more about "STOP: Know What's Right" for 5th graders and here to learn more about "STOP: No Excuse for Abuse" for 7th graders.

We heard that teachers strongly believe in the program, students are enjoying it, and Ruth Lilly Health Education Center receives requests for the program to be expanded to other schools (they need more funding to do so). Because of this program, students have an awareness of what constitutes a healthy relationship and what doesn't. And, the innovative way the center delivers the program holds their interest. Rick, an IPS middle school teacher, told Diana "With the use of technology, music, statistics, and real-life scenarios, the instructors' interactive program allows the class to explore and think critically about the subject matter."

I love that Women's Fund supports of this important program for girls and boys in IPS Schools. And, I appreciate the great work of Ruth Lilly Health Education Center to provide high-quality programs for youth in our community.

Exploring a Community Center I Never Had

I’ve become interested in Community Centers through my work with Women’s Fund. Last year alone, Women’s Fund invested $65,000 for operating expenses to three different centers (Concord Neighborhood Center, Hawthorne Community Center and John H. Boner Community Center). Growing up on Army bases, I don’t recall having a community center to go to, so I became curious about them. What are they? Who visits them? What do people do there? Why are they so important?

Well, the more I explored, the more I learned and the more I love about them. First, I love that the word “unity” is in the word community. That’s exactly the purpose of a community center – to bring unity to the communities they serve. No matter a person’s age or their needs, there are programs, activities and services for everyone.

For today's blog I decided to take a closer look at Concord (the picture is from one of their childcare graduations). Women’s Fund has provided significant funds to this organization for a number of years – from computer training for girls to childcare for women; assistance with basic needs to youth development. The Concord Neighborhood Center has been serving south side families since 1875, providing everything from social services, children’s programs, educational opportunities and recreational activities. They pride themselves on their ability to positively impact the lives of its neighbors.

So to answer my own questions:

1. Who visits the center? Concord serves over 1,000 women and girls annually (not to mention the number of boys and men that visit throughout the year).


2. What do they do there? Concord offers childcare, before and after school care, sports, camps, homework help, employment assistance, educational programs, emergency assistance, family literacy programs, wellness classes, health clinics, activities for seniors – and the list goes on and on.


3. Why is it so important? I’m pretty sure the first two answer this question. If it weren’t for Concord, people on the south side wouldn’t have these quality programs and services.

Once again, I thank Women’s Fund for introducing me to an organization I wasn’t very familiar with and for the dollars you invest to help improve the quality of life for our women and girls in our community (in this case, those living on Indy’s south side).

‘Tis the Season for Joy; Not Pain

I recently read an article about the increased rate of domestic violence during the holidays, which really breaks my heart. The holidays are supposed to be filled with fun with family and friends, not a time for living in fear of violence. I can’t help wonder if holiday stress, stretched finances and increased alcohol consumption at holiday parties affect relationships and individual attitudes. I must confess I have found myself fighting back my own road rage recently – only to remind myself that the holidays are a time for cheer and joy, not frustration.

“Holiday stress” is no excuse for abuse (nothing is). If you – or someone you know, are in an abusive situation, it’s important to get help. Talk to a friend, stay at a relative’s house or take advantage of the many local resources we have available. Below are three places I’ve become more familiar with through working with Women’s Fund.

• The Julian Center – provides shelter, counseling and education for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other life crisis.
• Prevail, Inc. – provides support and programs to victims of domestic violence in Hamilton and surrounding counties. They also staff a 24-hour crisis line: 317.776.3472. Their mission is to provide advocacy, awareness, support services and education to victims of crime and individuals and families in crisis.
• Turning Point Domestic Violence Services – provides support to women, men and children who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. They have a 22-bed emergency shelter, the provide education, prevention and training programs; and they have a 24-help line: 1.800.221.6311.

No matter the reason; no matter the season; I truly believe there is no excuse for abuse! I’m glad to know Women’s Fund is supporting these organizations so victims of abuse can find help – and hope.

Volunteering as a Family

Teaching my children the importance of volunteering is something that’s extremely important to me. It’s something my parents me taught me growing up and something I hope to pass along to my children. They’re young now (and would probably hate this picutre being posted), but some small things we do make a big difference. Each birthday, they go through their toys and find some to donate to children who are less fortunate. We drop them off together at places such as Coburn Place, The Villages and The Julian Center. Each Thanksgiving, my family volunteers at a homeless shelter serving meals. While my kids aren’t old enough to go with us, they know and understand what we’re doing. These are just two things we’re doing to help them understand the importance of volunteering. I want volunteering to become a part of their life, no matter their age.

National Family Volunteer Day is Saturday, Nov. 21, which kicks off National Family Week. I had no idea. But I like it. I like the idea that families are encouraged to volunteer together. There are studies that show volunteering starts at an early age, so if kids see mom or dad doing it, chances are they'll do the same as adults.

Women’s Fund may not be the first organization that comes to mind when thinking about family volunteering, but in fact, they offer two philanthropy education programs that instill that same belief of giving back. The cool thing is their philanthropy education programs extend beyond a day or week of volunteering together, but focus on lifelong giving.

• GO: Give Back is a program that combines philanthropic education with charitable giving – teaching young people to make meaningful financial contributions to their community.


• Power of Girls is a one day mother-daughter event that teaches philanthropy, the challenges facing women and girls in our community and the value of granting dollars to an organization.

I appreciate Women’s Fund for the work they are doing to improve the lives of women and girls in central Indiana. I appreciate that they focus on lifelong impact through its permanent endowment. I appreciate that they provide opportunities for family volunteering.

I heard someone with Women’s Fund once say: When you help a woman, you help the entire family. When you help a family, you help the community. That’s something I will keep in mind as I find ways to volunteer as a family – and as I continue to think of ways to encourage my children to give back.

I truly believe that volunteering as a family is a great way to spend quality time together while doing meaningful work in the community. Does your family volunteer together?

National Family Caregivers Month - Think about the caregivers in your life

This month is National Family Caregivers Month, which got me thinking about the roles of traditional caregivers. I am a working mom of 1 year old twin boys. I am constantly trying to balance the desire to work as a small business attorney against the needs of my kids to have me there for all their daily events, big and small. Even as I sit here and write this post at 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, I am making a value judgment that this activity is worth not being at home with my kids.

My nanny, my husband, and my family make it possible for me to be away from my kids in order to earn a living and to have a professional identity, which I have realized is critical to my happiness. They serve as caregivers for my kids and provide them with safety and security, but more importantly, they provide a diversity of care. My mother in law, whom I adore, has a different approach to playtime than I do, and that is a good thing. It means my kids get to experience a wide variety of approaches to child care. However, as all parents know, consistency is also key, and so my husband knows very well that he has to give them a bath before bed every night, even if a new Xbox game came out today that he is dying to play.

Having caregivers for our kids is a reality for women. I am ridiculously lucky to have the support system in place to allow me to work. Especially when I consider that most women don’t have the choices that I have with regard to caregivers. Access to good child care is critical to a woman’s success, both personally and professionally. As we celebrate the caregivers for our children this month, I urge you to consider the importance of loving, thoughtful, experienced child care and remember that Women’s Fund is intimately involved in assisting organizations that provide access to responsible and cost effective caregivers that allow women to support themselves.

Are You Hungry?

I am feeling hungry as the day winds down and am eating an apple and trying not to drip the juice on the keyboard while I type. For my entire life, I have been fortunate to have never worried about having food for my next meal. My food worries center more around eating too much food and making healthy choices.

This past Saturday our GO: Give Back participants gathered for their GO educational sessions and in age-appropriate and gender divided groups, we discussed Food: Enough to Spare? Enough to Share? It was a challenging topic for children to think about people in our country and community who don't have enough to eat. The children were open, receptive, and left the session with a greater appreciation for food, nutrition, and hunger.

Here are some comments from GO participants about what they learned:

"We talked about world hunger and hunger in the U.S. and I learned that 1 out of nine people are hungry in the U.S. and a lot more people are hungry around the world."
--Maddie, sixth grade

"I learned about hunger and soup kitchens. We talked about how we can help people who don't have as much food as we do."
-- Joel, fourth grade

"I learned that one out of nine people in Indiana are hungry. I learned if we do not waste our food then less people will be hungry. I learned if you want to donate give some food to Second Helpings."
-- Catherine, fourth grade

Stay tuned for more later this week about what participants like best about GO. In the meantime, for more information about GO, see our website: http://www.womensfund.org/.

Thanks for reading! I have to go clean my sticky keyboard now.

Back to School...or Not?

It is back to school season... yellow busses abound on our streets and school supplies line the aisles of our favorite stores. This time is one of excitement for many children and parents, and one of dismay for others. Most parents have to adjust work schedules to manage pickup and dropoff for their children, determine new caregiving options, and the like.

"Kids go back to school... or maybe not" talks about the challenges the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system faces this time of year. Having worked with families and schools in IPS in the past, I know attendance can be an issue. I was surprised to see the actual number of children not present in the first days and weeks of school. IPS School 60 had around 100 children absent the first day, and according to this article, almost 9,000 children expected to attend school were not present on the first day.

Several questions linger in my mind: What happens to those children who are not in school on the first day - are they safe and well-cared for? What about children like 7-year-old Anya, who want to go to school, but are not able to attend due to a barrier related to income? What is the impact on our entire community of nearly 9,000 children missing one day, one week, or more of school?

I am proud Women's Fund provides funding to address issues around caregiving and insufficient income. I hope that the families who struggle with back-to-school time know their options. One great resource is our grantee, Indianapolis Day Nursery; they keep a list of childcare resources. Check back on Thursday for a post by Jennifer, who will continue our discussion about childcare.

Summer Camp ... at Indiana Women's Prison

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!

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.

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.