Dear Friend,
The incarceration rates for women have increased exponentially over the last 20 years. According to the Women’s Prison Association (WPA), the number of women in the United States has increased by 757% (WPA Report, 2004). In the State of Oregon, the number of women in prison as reported by the WPA has increased by 776%. Compounding the already overwhelming problem is the fact that many of these women have children under the age of 18, who by virtue of youth are at a greater risk (7 times greater than their peers) of being incarcerated themselves as adults, thus continuing the intergenerational cycles of domestic violence, addiction and incarceration.
It is vital that society begins to look for better solutions than incarceration to end this cycle. In order to get the community to believe in more restorative measures and less mass incarceration, we need to prove how sponsorship and supportive programming can reduce recidivism. The only real way to achieve this is by doing it. Programs that help guide our women from prison to productive members of society with publishable results will show how mass incarceration is not an answer.
Re-entry programs that are needed specifically for women are just beginning to be recognized among the institutions and professional community that works with these women on an ongoing basis. There needs to be more. More awareness of the need within the greater community; more demand from policymakers to take appropriate action. Voices Set Free is committed to speaking for incarcerated women and to providing the ‘more’ being spoken of.
In order to make this commitment a public reality, more resources are needed. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to Voices Set Free to help women re-enter the community after prison successfully and permanently. Thank you for your consideration. Happy Holidays to you all!
With the deepest gratitude,
Susan Day
