When you think about female-ex-offenders, what is the first thought that comes to your mind? When you think about prison, how do you feel?
I ask you to take an open-minded look at these women in a new blog, Friends of Guest House – Different Perspectives from Different Women.
Friends of Guest House is a residential program that helps women who are being released from jail or prison. If women are not provided this chance, then what’s the alternative?
Working with them every day, I see the challenges that they face and am constantly in awe of their strength. I developed this blog to give each woman who comes through Friends of Guest House an opportunity to educate the public on who they are and share their stories. I want them to have a voice. Every woman who comes through the Guest House is extraordinary and unique.
These women are survivors with real stories who are working every day to make changes and become productive members of society. This blog allows them to be expressive and take part in something productive and thought-provoking as they undertake that journey.
For most of these women, this is the first time in their life someone has given them the opportunity for expression and the possibility of helping someone else.
So this blog will explore many questions that revolve around the stigmas associated with female ex-offenders, the fallacies of incarceration and the struggles that women face through re-entry within any community.
I want to challenge readers to be open-minded and not judgmental of where these women have been. I want them to be curious to know how these women end up where they are, and socially aware and supportive of where they want to be.
Women have unique life experiences. They occupy different familial and social roles. As a result, they enter prison in more dire emotional, physical and economic circumstances than men do.
Most often, women are reactive to their situations and are convicted of "poverty crimes," such as drug possession, intent to distribute and check fraud. It is rare for a non-violent female offender to be a threat to any community.
The Guest House is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation, and assists women when they are released from jail or prison. The Guest House provides temporary housing for women who are in the need of basic human services to facilitate their new start in life and adjustments to the community at large.
The program at Guest House is designed to empower the women by providing the tools necessary to achieve self-sufficiency, including housing, food, individual and group counseling, as well as assistance with employment, medical, legal and social services. Guest House offers its services to women who sincerely desire assistance when released from confinement and to women who seek an alternative to incarceration.
You can hear the voices of these women here. And I’ll be back here periodically to provide summaries and updates on the progress of the women and the work of Friends of Guest House.
Over the past few months, the Guest House has implemented a new Community Outreach Program. The focus is to reach more women and children in the community who need assistance. The Guest House wants to be a different type of organization, one that creates social awareness and change. Due to limited funds, social service organizations have a selective criterion regarding the population they serve. We do not want to have to turn a woman away who is in need of basic assistance, even if it is just for a day.
Friends of Guest House was featured in the 2007-08 Catalogue for Philanthropy as "One of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region." Charities were selected for "excellence, innovation, and cost-effectiveness–and for what they can teach us about the extraordinary ways that philanthropy works."
Erika Freund works at Friends of Guest House, splitting her time between Community Outreach and Case Management.
The Women’s Foundation supports Friends of Guest House and other nonprofits that are changing the lives of women and girls. Want to be a part of paving new pathways for women throughout our region? There’s a place for everyone at The Women’s Foundation. Find yours today.
