When night ends

By Ann Montgomery, Resolana volunteer

My first day at Resolana, Peggy Helmick-Richardson told our group a story about a rabbi who stumped his students with a question. He asked, “How can you tell when night has ended?”  Despite numerous attempts, his students failed to find the correct answer. Stumped, they gave up, asking him to share the secret. “It’s simple,” the rabbi declared. “Night has ended when you look in to the face of the person next to you and see the reflection of your own face.”

For me, the truth in Peggy’s story was revealed each time I visited Lew Sterrett with Resolana. As I looked across the room that first day, I heard echoes of my own past struggles, not to mention the voices of family and friends, reflected in the women’s fight against wrongdoing and affliction. I realized that only life circumstance had separated me from other women in the circle. The disappointments and hopes they expressed were ones I’d heard before. Despite circumstance that had distinguished our life experience, both volunteers and prisoners were involved in the human fight to prove ourselves worthy, if only to our own expectations and dreams.

A letter from Wendy

Note: Resolana participants must be out of jail and “off paper” a minimum of six months (and often much longer, depending on their offense) before they can reenter the jail as a volunteer. When Wendy A recently began volunteering in the jail, here is what she shared about her journey. This letter first appeared in the November newsletter.

I’m very excited to be given the opportunity to be part of a program that has helped shape me into who I am today.

I was incarcerated in Dallas County Jail for 18 months for aggravated assault and released in April, 2010. I attended Resolana for about seven months. I am so grateful for the things I learned in the classes like goal setting, effective communication and anger management. I also learned to love myself and embrace who I am as an individual.

Since I have been out, I have to admit life has been pretty good despite a few setbacks. There are many challenges; the main ones are finding stable employment due to my criminal history and repairing my relationship with my daughter who lives with her father.

Resolana helped give me the skills to be able to deal with challenges and setbacks in a positive way, helped me believe that I can achieve anything I put my mind to. I am a full time student at Tarrant County College and I am very excited to state that I made honors last semester. I am five classes away from my Associates degree; then I plan to transfer to UTA to work on a BA.

The first time I went back to the jail as a volunteer was a little nerve-wracking, but very inspiring as well. The hardest part was to look into the tanks and remember. I think the longer I was out, I just forgot or maybe blocked the harsh realities of jail.

The other volunteers were very helpful in helping me deal with my anxiety, and as we delved into the class I forgot my nervousness and felt more comfortable. I am glad that I faced my fears. Being on the other side this time helps me believe in myself more.

I hope that through volunteering I can make a positive difference in someone else’s life, the way that Resolana did in my life.

Thank you,

Wendy

Dance in the Jail

If you have attended any of Resolana’s volunteer get-togethers, you’ve definitely noticed the calm, radiant presence of a petite blond woman. If you have volunteered with Resolana’s dance program at the Dallas County Jail, you have experienced the transformative force of dance through the movement program that she helped found and shape.  This is Dr. Barbara Miller, a dentist by profession and healer by calling who sees dance as an integral part of her work. The Baylor Dental Journal recently honored Dr. Miller with an extensive article about her work.

Dr. Barbara Miller started dancing early, as a 3 year old, and credits dance for giving her ‘voice’ early in life when she was a shy girl.   She hopes it would give the women in jail the same sense of freedom, opportunity for expression and fun during the movement workshops. They would feel more connected to their bodies and so overcome the sense of powerlessness they’ve experienced through abuse from many sources; find fun in a physical activity that doesn’t involve drugs of alcohol.

Resolana’s creative movement program is unique not only for conceptually integrating dance in treatment with the goal of ultimately preparing women to get back to society transformed and empowered. The program is unique also in its holistic application.  Leadership is shared during the classes, establishing a model for the ladies to see play out.  Dance classes represent a wide range of styles and forms, from liturgical to ethnic, and allow for the search of internal freedom. Within the bare walls of the jail, dance allows eyes to turn inwards and create an internal space for each woman in which she can start build on her self-knowledge and potential.

Read more about Dr. Miller’s work in the Baylor Dental Journal article. Better yet, volunteer in one of the dance or other Resolana classes to experience how this transformation comes to life for everyone involved, no matter if they have to stay there, in the jail, after the class ends.

Resolana’s first six months in the dedicated tank at Dallas County Jail

By Bette Buschow, Resolana founder and executive director

Six months have passed since Resolana established a dedicated tank in the Dallas County Jail.  Here are some numbers to give a broad picture of what this work has accomplished so far.

Between April 1 and Sept 20, 2011, Resolana’s dedicated program tank served 278 (unduplicated) women.  We offered 398 classes to inmates in our classroom and held 57 community meetings in the tank for a total of 455 sessions.  The classes alone represent 5889 ”touches” of women incarcerated in Dallas County Jail; with community meetings added, the touches total an estimated 8740.

Resolana has recently added a weekly four day intensive course for our intake group and “open call” classes on Friday afternoons; we will be adding Saturday NA meetings within the month.  Resolana has also begun expanding case management services for program participants, and our new full time clinical manager and interns from the UTArlington and USC School of Social Work will continue to develop this critical part of our program in the next months

Over 1600 in-jail hours were clocked by staff and volunteers during this six month period. This represents a monumental effort by a small staff and dedicated volunteers.

The cost, based on current records of program expenses for this time period, works out to about $6/woman/session.

A letter from Ida (Wilmer Drug Rehab)

This letter was sent back to her former pod-mates by a participant in Resolana’s program who is now at the Judicial Treatment Center in Wilmer, a county rehab center. 

Hey girls, ladies, sisters!

Right now I have been [Wilmer] for 2&1/2 weeks.  This letter comes at a time when I feel comfortable [and am settling in].

Some of you sisters remember me, some you don’t. But the matter at hand is: where all you ladies are right now in I Pod, better known as the Resolana pod, is a great foundation for where your next step of sobriety is gonna be.

Some of you are probably thinking that being racked up [confined to their bunks by the officer in the pod] for the noice level is silly. Ladies, when we were in the world we talked all the time.  God is just trying to get a message to us or if not to us, to someone else. The world is such a busy, noisy place already and not everyone’s paying attention.

I finally get the true meaning of [what may seem like] being spoiled and selfish.  This program is all about “me.”  All I thought about in the world was me being on my A game and getting ahead.  [Now I’m focusing on] me and my actions.  I don’t have to worry about no one else but me.  I clean up after only me. I don’t have to worry about anyone else’s needs or wants. This program is all about learning to take care of one’s self.

I miss all of the facilitators at Resolana.  I  learned a lot, plus Resolana is a great foundation even if you don’t get to come to Wilmer. Please take what you learn beyond the jail walls and push on. Don’t forget to set your weekly intentions: “I hear you, I see you, I affirm your intention with love.”  [Setting intentions and acknowledging the intentions of others with this phrase are a part of Resolana’s morning meetings.]

You are all in my prayers. And once I get off probation, I will be a wonderful volunteer for Resolana as an alumni.

May God bless each and every one of you,

Ida T.

Resolana Music Festival: rave reviews

The Westside Music Festival sponsored by Resolana has become a community factor growing in significance in its second year. It got some rave reviews coming from a variety of sources, ranging from the Dallas sheriff’s newsletter to DFW art media.

Sheriff Lupe Valdez, a strong supporter of the program, was honorary chair of the festival and she delivered some inspiring remarks about the collaboration with Resolana. The good girl/bad girl dolls she made were displayed at the festival along those made by inmate programs director Yolanda Lara and Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia. Read the DCJ Sheriff’s newsletter for some insights on the event (page 5).

Art + Seek, a powerhouse among the online art media in the DFW, published an enthusiastic article about Resolana and the festival titled The Jailhouse Rocks with Art. Westside is now an art tradition to take into account that also does good!

 

Westside Music Festival, 2011, in images

Did you miss the second edition of the Westside Music Festival, organized by Resolana? Here are some images of the extravaganza.

The theme of the festival was Community. But the visual implied theme was Colors. Which is what is  absent in the lives of women in jail. And colors have such a powerful symbolism for many other things that they’ve been missing.

Even though deprived of colors, women in jail create them in the Resolana art classes – just like they create the pathways to their future lives in the rest of the program.

Some colorful good girl-bad girl dolls created by many members of the Resolana community and friends were offered at the silent auction.

Besides wonderful art, crafts and gift certificates by local businesses.

Artist Ivonne Acero live-painted during the festival a new piece dedicated to women in jail, to be auctioned off at the end of the festival.

Women in jail couldn’t attend, but they got messages written by festival guests especially for them.

Kids had fun! They had their faces painted, then painted adults’ faces, too, enjoyed hoops, a bounce house, storytelling and dance.

Adutls had fun, too!

They enjoyed some of the same activities designed for the women in jail, like yoga.

 

Soulful music and performances were the highlight of the afternoon.

Sheriff Valdez got an oversized thank-you card.

Executive director of Resolana Bette Buschow (wo)manned the information table.

Board President, Fran Tynan, and festival chair, Suzanne Enck-Wanzer, wrapped-up an inspiring event.

The festival’s net revenue to Resolana’s fundraising effort was more than $26,000, thanks to all who contributed through sponsorship, volunteering, silent auction and so many other ways. Thank you!

Mom

By Bonnie Noble, Resolana Board of Directors

(written during a recent writing workshop for women in jail)

I remember the day
I’m twenty-eight
Wife, mother, 2 kids
Full time job, labor and delivery nurse
College student

Dad dies
I do it all, as always
Call the relatives
Plan the funeral
Fix your finances

Then, you say
Not good enough
Lousy daughter
Last five years

I lose it
First time
Tell you what I think, how I feel
Lousy mom
Twenty-eight years

Shouting
Tears
Get out of here
I’m sorry
No, I’m not

A Message from Bonnie Noble, a new Resolana board member

By Bonnie Noble, RN, PhD, Resolana Board of Directors

Bonnie is Director of Patient Centeredness at Baylor Health Systems. She has served as a healthcare executive for many years and recently designed a performance management dashboard for California Prison Health Care Services.

My husband’s career landed us in Dallas in January 2011. A life-long Californian who calls San Francisco home, I quickly realized what a huge change living in Texas was going to be for us. I decided to look for some volunteer opportunities to help me get acquainted with my new community.  Fran Tynan, the current chairwoman of the Resolana Board of Directors, was one of the first people that I met here in Dallas. We attended a class together at the Center for Non-Profit Management and became instant friends. Fran’s passion for Resolana’s work is contagious, and I soon found myself agreeing to meet her at the jail on a Friday night for a “5 Rhythms “dance class. I had a great time that first night and I have been back for several more sessions including writing, art, and a few community building courses.

A recent Friday evening spent in a writing class led by Jennifer McNabb was particularly meaningful for me. One of our assignments that evening was to write a poem.  Jennifer shared a poem by famous American poet, William Carlos Williams, which was to serve as our inspiration. The general idea was to think of a time when an apology had been not entirely heartfelt. Most of the women were working in small groups and I was wandering around the room listening in and providing works of encouragement. Then, a poem of my own started to take shape in my head. Honestly, I’ve never before written a poem, but I found myself grabbing a pencil and hurrying to get my thoughts down on paper.

We each shared our poems that evening. Some were very funny and there was lots of laughter. Some were more serious, even sad, and prompted words of support and encouragement.  Mine was the latter and I was touched by the compassion expressed by the Resolana women that night.  One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou’s book, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now - “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”  It’s so true that giving and receiving are inextricably linked creating a natural flow as basic and inhaling and exhaling.  I am so grateful to Resolana – the staff, the board, the volunteers, and most of all, the women, for allowing me to give and to receive.

Westside Music Festival is this weekend!

Resolana‘s now annual Westside Music Festival is coming this weekend!

On Saturday, September 24, from noon to 6 pm, come and enjoy an exciting lineup of performers in genres ranging from smooth jazz to Latin and lounge.

Peruse the silent auction items, which, from dance classes to art, keepsake dolls and jewelry, offer something valuable to everyone – but most importantly, to the women in jail who will benefit from the proceeds.

The festival offers a wide array of activities for the whole family: professional storytellers, a bounce house, hoops and dollmaking.

It promises to be an exciting afternoon of fun and celebration. It brings us together for a great occasion to build a better community and break the cycle of women’s incarceration.

The address is 511 W. Commerce St, Dallas, 75208.  For tickets ($10 if purchased in advance, or $25 for a family pass), call: 214-233-6558 or email:  resolanamusic@gmail.com.