Goalcast What Theo Fleury speaks of in this powerful video is at the heart of what happens in a Talk to Me classroom. Truth Be Told started the Talk to Me program in 2000 at Lockhart Women's Correctional Facility. The women in that inaugural class actually named the program. Today, we offer three versions of Talk to Me -- Talk to Me Writing, Talk to Me Speaking and Talk to Me Movement -- at three women's prisons in Central Texas. All classes are led by very gifted and dedicated volunteer facilitators.
By sharing and bearing witness to each other's stories of past trauma and abuse, the women in Talk to Me learn how to build sacred, safe community right there inside the prison — a community founded on trust, compassion, empathy and healing. We women discover that the stories that have emotionally imprisoned us for years have tremendous healing power when we do the brave, life-affirming act of speaking them out loud.
The correctional system is calling for more "gender-responsive" programs inside women's correctional facilities — in other words, programs designed by women for women. Programs that speak to the unique risk factors that lead women into the criminal justice system — namely, elevated rates of interpersonal violence, addiction and histories of childhood sexual/physical abuse.
Truth Be Told has been listening to and working with incarcerated women for 18 years and developing programs that speak directly to their needs. We ARE gender-responsive. We ARE what the system is calling for.
Here's the challenge: On a very small budget with two full-time staff members and a team of volunteers, it takes everything we have to deliver nine unique programs across five women's correctional facilities, plus stay in community with our graduates who are now free.
The good news is that we manage to reach about 1,000 women a year. TDCJ data shows that 86.2% of our graduates remain free three years after their release from prison — a rate that fairs better than the state's record with women and equates to about $1 million in savings when looking at the daily rate of incarcerating a person in Texas.
Can you imagine our impact if we had the proper human resources and financial capital to expand our programs within a system that is calling for exactly what we deliver? We need financial impact leaders who will fund our work. We need more volunteer facilitators to keep our classes alive and growing. We need connectors in the community who will put Truth Be Told in front of individuals and audiences who can elevate our mission and work.
As Theo asks in this video: Do you want to be a part of it? If you've made it all the way to the bottom of this post, I believe the answer is YES.
Be a changemaker for Truth Be Told and the justice-involved women we serve. Let us hear from you today. Send us an email at office@truth-be-told.org and tell us how you can help, or visit us online at www.truth-be-told.org. ... See more
The gun was in his mouth, and then his life changed forever. The shortest man to ever play professional hockey, Olympic superstar and NHL All-Star Theo Fleury shares his harrowing journey back from hell
Speaker: Theo Fleury
Link to video: http://bit.ly/2Iz0jju ... See more
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