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Shining Light on Women in Prison

Shining Light on Women in Prison

The U.S. leads the world in numbers of incarcerated individuals—both in numbers and in percentages. China is second to the U.S. (China’s population, as of August, 2017, is 1.389 billion compared to the U.S. at 326 million.)

Since 1980, the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has risen over 700%. In 1980, there were 26,378 women in custody. By 2014, that number reached 215,332. In the same time frame between 1980 and 2014, incarceration of women grew 50% higher than the growth of incarceration of men. Since 2014, the numbers for both men and women have remained fairly consistent.

Why have the statistics risen so dramatically—and more important, what is the impact to our society?

Many of women in the U.S. prison system are there because of drug-related crimes. Twenty-four percent of women in prison are there due to drug-related offenses compared to their male counterparts at 15%. Next in line for reasons women are incarcerated is for “property offenses,” such as shoplifting or theft.

Research suggests—and proves—that the rise of numbers of women in prison is directly related to the use of incarceration as a way to solve drug-related crimes. Research also suggests that once the majority of women with drug-related issues are released, they revert to substance abuse.

Statistics also bear out that 60% of women in our prisons have a child under 18—many ending up in the foster care system due to their mother’s incarceration.

Unfortunately, the issues that affect women are largely overlooked in the prison system. Their issues are eclipsed by the dominant issues related to incarcerated men. Risk factors that contribute to what is considered criminal behavior for women, besides substance abuse, include mental illness, and spousal (or partner) abuse. Often, women’s criminal issues are related to their connection with criminal men.

In this country, we spend more money on corrections than on higher education.

We can do better.

If we were to focus attention on providing services to the women who are currently incarcerated, we could reduce the money flowing through the prison system dramatically. If we were to treat rather than punish the majority of the women in the system, we could intervene not only in their lives, but in the lives of their children and, potentially, subsequent generations.

At Fedcap, we are working on ways to address prevention or quick and precise intervention to help avert prison stays for women. By establishing programs  that start at the point of arrest, work behind the walls and provide smart and structured support upon release we expect to see a steady decline in incarceration among women.

What are your ideas for a solution to help women stay out of prison and get the healing that they need? What interventions would you recommend? I believe that we can contribute significantly to solving this problem for women behind bars. I believe that there are systemic solutions that we can work on together to solve this problem for women and their families. The Power of Possible is not just an idea, but a force that can change lives and that make a permanent and powerful impact on society as a whole. Working for and with women in prison is an essential step in manifesting that Power.

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The Event: Not Simply a Good Time

The Event: Not Simply a Good Time

Events are a staple for most non-profits, and they are invariably a time to celebrate the people who have contributed time, energy, resources, and funding to an organization over the course of the year as well as to raise awareness of the organization’s good work. Fedcap is no exception: we host a number of events and we are always glad to bring people together and to have them learn more about our family of agencies, our programs and services, and the impact we make in our communities.

Here at Fedcap, behind every nametag, every packet, every menu decision, every poster, and every hour of preparation, there is a story of individuals whose lives have been changed. Our hope is that when people attend our events, their understanding of a societal issue is deepened, they learn something new, they connect with people who care about the same things that they care about, they are moved, or they simply have fun. But on top of that, we hope that they know that by coming together in the spirit of learning or fun, behind the scenes, they are contributing a lot more than a good time.

For example, when you attend one of several Easterseals golf tournaments, you are bound to have a good time. You are out in the fresh air, presumably with old (or new) friends. You are doing something that you like to do. In the meantime, you are also changing the life of a family like Alex’s, whose parents were unable to manage his aggressive, combative physical behavior. They had not been able to step out for a visit with extended family or to go out for a meal for the nine years since Alex had been born. That is, until they found Easterseals, whose program not only helped Alex to socialize and verbalize, but also gave Alex’s parents the tools they needed to better manage their life at home. Now all three family members are able to attend ball games, shop at the grocery store, and even go out for dinner. This shift is due to the professional work of the Easterseals staff, and it is due to your support and attendance at a fun golfing event.

Behind every event, there are hundreds of children like Alex, veterans who need retraining and social support post-deployment, those recovering from mental illness or substance use disorder who will thrive because they are fully employed and counted on for a good job. Workers over 55 are doing the work they love while contributing to their communities. Foster children are entering—and staying—in college. Those who have left the justice system are staying out of the system.

These days, it’s easy to stay home and select something great on a big (or little) screen. But the next time you see an announcement for an event, think about this: just by showing up, just by spending a few hours away from home, you will be connecting with others who think and feel as you do, you will undoubtedly have a good time, and you may well learn something new. Most importantly, though, your attendance will be changing the life of a family, a neighbor, a friend, or even a family member.

I look forward to seeing you on the links, at a party, or at one of our Solution Series or our Gala.  Together, we can have fun and we can change lives while we’re doing it.

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Social Entrepreneurship: The Marriage of Creativity and Innovation

Social Entrepreneurship: The Marriage of Creativity and Innovation

“Creativity has two parts: thinking, then producing. Innovation is embedded in the creative process. It is the implementation of creative inspiration.” —Linda Naiman

The term “social entrepreneurship” was first coined in 1953 and then popularized in the 1980s and 1990s as a way to describe the work of organizations whose aim is to improve the well-being of society. Social entrepreneurship differs from entrepreneurship in that its successes are not measured necessarily by profits or revenue, but instead by the ways that society improves as a result of the work.

We know that there over 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. with 10,000 nonprofits in NYC alone. Each aims at addressing a societal problem and righting it. Yet there are still thousands of people living in poverty, homeless, suffering from substance abuse, recidivism, or stigma. We are not all pulling together to keep the environment healthy. There are still many hungry people in this country. What will it take to make a substantial improvement in society’s most pressing issues?

Social entrepreneurship is really about changing a system—a social system. The work of social entrepreneurship is to change the way society views—and mitigates—a problem. But changing a system means changing attitudes, prejudices, and fear.

Last week I wrote about stigma and offered a challenge to consider the ways we allow our fears to overtake reason and statistics. But change cannot subsist on emotional appeal alone. Behind the scenes, there must be strategy and structure that facilitates space for creating and innovating non-traditional solutions to address societal issues that touch us all—directly or indirectly.

The work of social entrepreneurship is to marry a creative solution or idea with very precise infrastructure and strategy to support that work. It means having a plan and being nimble enough to pivot and adjust as new information, technology, policy, or practice offers increased clarity. The key is being able to see what’s coming and not to hold too tightly to the how we’ve always done it—even if a solution worked in the past.

These solutions mean having people working in social enterprises who are brave, who know themselves and who enjoy a good challenge—even conflict—because they know it will make their own thinking better. It means gathering people who not only have brilliant ideas but also those who can innovate and implement those brilliant ideas and precise solutions. We can all be inspired by our work in social entrepreneurship—even in the day-to-day implementation of a great idea.

Every day I think about ways I can improve my own thinking and my own creative approach to solving problems. Gathering people around me who challenge me and who make me better is what inspires me as a leader. What inspires you?

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Challenging Our Beliefs

Challenging Our Beliefs

My working life has been devoted to creating opportunities for people with barriers to move toward economic well-being.  Every day, we are inventing precise solutions to the issues of economic inequity. The strategy and infrastructure of our agency was created to facilitate ways for our staff, board, our funders, and our consumers to have easy access to a variety of solutions to economic insecurity.

Our work is complex. It means staying ahead of ever-evolving research, policies, and laws. It means analyzing the data and the trends and reaching ahead of ourselves to shape the future.

In my 25-plus years in this business, I am always brought back to one major factor that can contribute greatly to reducing barriers to economic well-being.  That one factor is stigma.

Where does stigma come from?

Stigma comes from fear. It comes from unfounded beliefs that are formed from one encounter, one media portrayal, one story heard once. The fear that creates stigma is the same type of fear that tells you that you shouldn’t fly because there was a plane crash two years ago, even though 100,000 planes fly safely worldwide every day, and at any given moment, there are between one and two million people in the air. The fear of a plane crash is not based on statistics. Nor is the fear that drives stigma about people with barriers.

If many of us were to honestly search own beliefs about certain population groups, I suspect we would uncover a stereotype that may have been created based in fear, not fact.

What are your beliefs about:

…people who suffer from substance abuse?

…individuals who were previously incarcerated?

…workers over 60 years old?

…children in foster care?

…people with developmental or physical disabilities?

…people with mental illness?

We can choose not to define people by their disability or their struggle, but remember that their “problem” is just one aspect of who they are. Each of us, no matter what our “category” deserves to be seen as more than our disability or our “problem.”

I believe that we can change the way the world sees those who face barriers. What will you do differently to help eliminate the thinking that perpetuates the fears that create stigma? What can you do to further the understanding that people are much more than their issue, and that eliminating stigma means creating new possibilities for individuals and for all of society.

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Catalyst for Change

Catalyst for Change

I often ask the people who come to us for services what is the moment—the catalyst—that brings them through our doors seeking help. What is it that propels them to action and to make a change? Often people have been referred by another agency. Or, they have a friend who has experienced success and urges them to come in. Some see a post on social media shared by a friend. Others may see a brochure and decide to pick it up and read it. There is no wrong door to ask for help.

Many times, the people who come to us are at a low point—for some, the lowest point ever—in their lives. But they have something in common. That something is hope.

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There is much research out there that suggests that when confronted with a chronic and life-threatening medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease, many patients do not take the action they need to improve their condition. They might take a pill and start out exercising or eating well, but soon slide back into old habits. They can’t sustain their better habits even out of fear of death. Alan Deutschman, in his book Change or Die, discusses the phenomenon that keeps patients on track. The undergirding factor that motivates patients to stay the course is not fear, but hope and a champion who walks alongside them in the change process.

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And, when leaders want to reorganize, reset, innovate, or improve aspects of their organization, imposing a quick change on staff can breed fear. Will I be able to thrive in the “new” way? What if I don’t have the tools to move forward? What if the skillset I have now is not what’s needed for the future? The greatest motivator is not fear, but instead is an attitude that looks forward to change and to learning whatever’s needed to help make the change a success. Hope for success is the catalyst for comfort with change.

For those whom we serve, for patients wishing for a lasting change, and for individuals who work in any organization, creating a vision of what’s possible and then offering the precise tools and roadmap for change is the catalyst for success. It seems quite simple, yet we often forget to state the vision—the “why” of our work.  As leaders–individually and in the world of social services–articulating the vision, walking the path with those who are experiencing change, and creating the tools to concretize that vision is the surest road to a successful future.

What has been the catalyst for a big change in your life? What led you to that moment of acceptance of that change?

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Independence, Interdependence, and Self-sufficiency

Independence, Interdependence, and Self-sufficiency

This week we celebrate Independence Day, a day hard-won in our nation’s history. Independence never comes easy. It means turning away from what one knows, facing the unknown, often treacherous future, and having a great deal of faith that one will survive a new life. Our American ancestors were brave souls who fought hard for freedom. Independence takes courage, the willingness to stand for oneself, and hard work to sustain a new life.

Our business is helping people become independent. It is a complicated business. Independence means self-sufficiency in the form of job stability, safe and affordable housing, educational attainment, literacy, and connection within a close community—whether it be family or a chosen kinship. Helping others become independent means having resources for a whole spectrum of care—from crisis intervention to job retention. It means creating a pathway from surviving to thriving.

Just as those who fought for freedom in this country over two hundred years ago, individuals fighting for self-sufficiency must first determine that they want to change the status quo. They must have a vision of what their lives could be like if certain things were to change. And then they must have quick and ready access to resources to help them attain that change. No one can attain independence without the help of others. Rather independence is really about interdependence.

As providers of services to those who seek help, it is our task to ensure that we have the right resources at the right time in the right place to help. And, the continuum of care doesn’t end with someone simply landing a job. Rather, it means supporting individuals so that they are able to enjoy permanent, stable employment of choice,  a job with a career.

Each day, we hear stories of individuals whose lives have changed as a result of the support they received from someone who believed in them and helped them believe in themselves.  This is how independence is achieved. The first step is believing in the power of possible. The rest is finding the right resources to achieve that power.

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Recovering Out Loud

Recovering Out Loud

Every day, we hear the stories of people who have overcome barriers to their success. In New Hampshire, Ashley’s life was a downward spiral in a tangle of opioid addiction. She spent time in jail. She lost her husband to a drug overdose. She lost custody of her child. She came perilously close to death herself. But then she found recovery. And today, Ashley is recovering out loud. She works at our Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Portsmouth, NH as a recovery coach. She tells her story over and over again to people who are at the cusp of their recovery. She gives them hope by example. Every day, she works her recovery by bravely telling her story and helping spark others’ courage.

In a recent New Yorker, in an article “The Addict Next Door,” Margaret Talbot writes about the opioid crisis in West Virginia, which holds the sad distinction of being number one in the country for opioid overdose deaths. (New Hampshire is second.) The article depicts the dark story of town after town suffering from too many young deaths. One of the root causes of the ongoing epidemic is the unwillingness for people to admit out loud that their loved one was caught in the clutches of addiction. Instead they—and their loved ones—are hemmed in by shame and by stigma. Obituaries do not name the cause of death. Family members don’t talk about it. No one asks. And the epidemic continues.

Obviously, having the right resources to answer the need is key. But it is by speaking up and telling our stories that barriers can begin to lift and stigma begins to melt away. When we tell our stories out loud, that’s when the power of possible becomes real. That’s when action and forward momentum is possible.

What can those of us who want to support our clients, neighbors, family members or friends do? We can listen. We can listen without judgment, knowing that what has happened to another can happen to us at any time. Ashley didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming addicted to heroin. None of the people we serve dream of a life of barriers. When we listen to others’ stories, we give them room to take action and to change. We cannot turn away from those with barriers. We need to listen and to imbue in them hope and the belief in the power of possible.

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Inspiring Hope

Inspiring Hope

The stories of those who have moved past homelessness, incarceration, trauma, unemployment, and addiction are an inspiration for those who are struggling. For so many who have claimed—or reclaimed—their right as a self-sufficient, contributing individual, it is the story of someone whose path was much like their own that gives them the courage to try.

Last week, at the Fedcap Career Design School graduation, we were honored to hear the stories of three individuals whose lives took an unexpected turn. These three represented the 300+ other graduates who had the courage to start again, to take risks, and to believe in themselves.

James had had a successful career in security. He expected to move up the ladder. When his employer went out of business he thought it would be easy to step into another, comparable job. But that didn’t happen. Instead, after months of job searching, he found himself on public assistance. He was deeply discouraged.  But then… he took action. He applied to the Fedcap Career Design School. There he found a supportive staff and concrete skills that helped him navigate the pathway to a job that leveraged his training and his experience.   James is thrilled, is telling his story out loud and inspiring hope.

Yashira Cruz earned a Bachelor’s Degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College –and believed that she was on the road to a great career and a well-planned life. But she could not find a job, her family life was torn apart, and she found herself struggling with deep depression. She took a chance and enrolled in Fedcap’s Home Health Aide Training Program, to support herself while she pulled her life together and worked towards her dream. Today Yashira is completing a Master’s Degree in clinical social work, while gaining valuable experience working for Fedcap.  She took risks and fought for her life and when she told her story, people who listened were inspired to fight for theirs.

Minurka Marte is deaf and struggled to find her way in a hearing world.  With no education she immigrated to America, found Fedcap, learned American Sign Language and graduated from our Total Facilities Management Training Program. She now has a job, a home and can support her children.  Although she is deaf and cannot speak Minurka told her story out loud, she shared the courage it took to change her life, and she caused those who listened to fundamentally believe that they too can change theirs.

Many of us have stories of overcoming, of fighting back, of persevering in times of tragedy.  By speaking up and telling our stories we change the lives of those around us.  As we learn every day at Fedcap, the  Power of Possible is a life altering force.

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Commencement: Celebration and New Beginnings

Commencement: Celebration and New Beginnings

06-13-17

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.   —  Lao Tze

This Wednesday marks my favorite day on the Fedcap calendar—Graduation Day. I like to think of it as Commencement—the start of a new beginning. This day—June 14—is the day when over one hundred and fifty men and women will cross the stage at John Jay College and receive a diploma for an extraordinary accomplishment—many against unimaginable odds. And this is the day that many will embark on a new life, filled with the power of possible.

Our graduates come from all walks of life. They represent a full roster of the people we exist to serve—those with barriers to employment—individuals with physical or mental disabilities, youth aging out of foster care, veterans, the previously incarcerated, recovering addicts, and older workers who have been nudged out of the workplace.  Each graduate harbors a story of triumph in personal courage and determination.  Each story is an example of resilience and hardiness and strength. And each moment among cheering parents, relatives, children, grandchildren, and friends inspires me, our staff, and our board of directors to keep on doing the work we are doing to make possible what for many was once only a dream.

Graduation opens the door to job placement, many in our own businesses. We see folks settled into custodial jobs, culinary arts, data entry, and security. Many of the graduates are already employed, and many will be, based on the skills and strengths they have built through our programs.

Our Commencement ceremony reminds me of the power of one person to make a difference. One graduate, through perseverance, gumption, will, and passion can alter the course of her or his family history. Where there may have been hopelessness about a bright future, there is now resolve. Where some focused only on the outcome, they now understand the journey is where the action is. These are lessons learned only through taking a goal one day at a time, one step at a time, showing up day after day until this day—graduation day is upon us. And now, commencement begins—commencement to the next step, the next journey—it is thrilling to imagine what that could and will be.

And the day reminds me of not only the power of the graduates to make a difference in their own lives, but also the power of their families, friends, and “chosen” families to do this for others. Without the support and the backing of those closest to us—those who believe in us—where would we be? Many of us would not be where we are today.

And finally, I am reminded of the difference, every day, that our staff makes in the lives of the graduates and their colleagues. Each of the staff, including many who have crossed the stage before this graduating class of 2017, has the power and ability to mentor, inspire, and lead others to places they had not dreamed were possible.

We each have an opportunity every day to help others move from impossible to possible. I go to bed each night wondering: What did I do today to help someone discover their “possible”? What will you do?

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Is Planning Passé?

Is Planning Passé?

“Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.”  –Winston Churchill

Companies have been creating strategic plans forever. We are all familiar with the process: gather senior leaders in a room for several days or months (maybe with a consultant to facilitate), do a SWOT analysis, project numbers and aspirations, do some strong wordsmithing, dust it up, hand it out, disseminate it to the stakeholders, and check the box: The Plan is done and the future is in our grasp. We’re in control. Now let’s get back to the business of running the company.

In the last decade or so, there has been a backlash on strategic planning. With the knowledge that fewer than 10% of strategic plans are executed successfully, many organizations have abandoned the planning process in favor of “responding-to-opportunities.”  For those of us in the non-profit world, that can mean anything from revising direction in favor of meeting criteria for a grant to reacting to a shift in the marketplace to a chance (or intentional) meeting with a potential partner. All of these opportunities can be fruitful, but chances are good they didn’t show up in the strategic plan created a couple of years ago—or even months ago…

On the other hand, if we leaders—in any arena—rely solely on responding-to-opportunities as a strategy, we find ourselves wandering all over the landscape without a compass to guide us. Without some sort of framework, we are relegated to putting out fires and simply reacting to what comes up.

Strategic planning at its worst appeals to a leader’s need for control. It reflects an aversion to risk. It diminishes creativity and innovation. And it rules out the possibility of quantum leaps. Strict planning causes organizational arthritis. Without flexibility, the slightest turbulence turns into a crisis.

Henry Mintzberg, in his seminal work, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, differentiates the concepts of strategic planning and strategic thinking. Strategy, he says, isn’t a plan but it is a “pattern that blends intended response with response that emerges out of the changing environment.” Planning is essential, as Winston Churchill told us. Mintzberg would tell us that “planning is essential … to ensure that the future is taken into account including preparing for the inevitable, preempting the undesirable, and controlling the controllable.”

I believe planning is essential. And I agree with Mintzberg in that planning is not a thing, but a way of thinking—it is the “brain” of an organization. It fueled by superior critical thinking skills, powerful judgment,  ongoing environmental analysis,  and brave, timely decision making.

Those of us in the nonprofit business are here to create change. We are here to offer precise solutions to complex societal problems. Rather than creating a plan that rusts on the shelf, let’s create a workforce that embodies the attributes of strategic thinking—nimble, strong, brave, and willing to take smart calculated risk for the sake of success.  And yes, let’s make sure we have some sort of road map to help guide us to the future with the ongoing opportunity to pursue new highways along the way.

What do you think?

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