Incarceration. Imprisonment. Seemingly another world.
Have you ever worked with or thought about working with the incarcerated? Have you ever been incarcerated? Has the quality of life or mental health of those who are incarcerated ever crossed your mind? This isn’t exactly something that is an open dialogue. I want to share a little bit about my experiences working with incarcerated youth and the importance of rehabilitation.
Statistics on juveniles in corrections, according to the Department of Justice:
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There were 15,100 17-year-olds in residential placement on Oct. 23, 2013 – more than any other age group.
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More than 9 in 10 (93 percent) facilities reported evaluating youth for suicide risk in 2014.
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Nationally, 50,821 juvenile offenders were held in residential placement facilities on Oct. 22, 2014.
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Half of committed residents had been in placement longer than 120 days when the census was taken. Half of detained juveniles had been in placement fewer than 22 days.
I began my research with prison treatment about a year ago, in a class I was taking. My teacher had previous experience in working with incarcerated women and bringing the experience of arts and theatre to them. We also read the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, a book that gives you a look into the world of lawyers and people behind bars. It opened my eyes to a whole new world that I had never considered. Humanities and arts are two of my passions – two things which I study lovingly and creatively that I’ve wanted to fuse together. It is an honor and an amazing opportunity to see my two passions bring me face-to-face with a youth juvenile facility to teach poetry and art projects.
Because none of my prior research had been in youth correctional facilities, the opportunity presented itself with accompanying feelings of nervousness and anticipation. I didn’t know how the youth would react or if college students coming to teach art would be looked at strangely or condescendingly, especially since we really aren’t too much older than them. After our first experience – all not knowing what was going through the young artists minds’ – we could see them starting to enjoy themselves. Spending time in their small rooms, without pens or pencils to release their creative zest, had made them adamant on taking advantage of this one hour they had with markers. My hesitant feelings were reversed when their smiles and satisfaction became my apropos.
From the minute we got there, Tommy*, a smiling young man in a level 4 outfit, greeted us – hoping to show us his living space and favorite books. A level 4 means that he’s at the top behavioral level and has special tasks and duties. As soon as we started writing poems, Tommy expressed his leading disposition and volunteered to read his aloud. I’m not sure if he knew the impact this would have on his peers, but it inspired others to open up too. Once they started reading their poetry, I could tell these artists had something special – internal passion, intensity and experiences that so naturally flowed into their writing.
My friend and I, both women, had three teenage girls in the facility sit with us on the first day. Each had spunky and silly personalities that specifically came through when they could be themselves together. I got the impression that they had become friends, sort of allies, there. We could see the social circles of interpersonal friendships unfolding as they all started to talk and open up a little bit more. I feel this is important for a place that can sometimes be so cold. The girls giggled and wrote their names on the paper table sheets, hoping that we’d tell the boys that they thought were coming in the room next. I felt a connection with these girls, and I think they let us into their circle of friendship and trusted us.
Many of the youth in these facilities have faced tragic realities that many of us may never know or experience in our lifetimes. An important part of social justice awareness is noticing these realities and taking part in actively being involved in them. I write about this experience, not with the intention to judge our justice system, but to show others the ways we can get involved and see from others’ points of view.
If you are interested in this type of work or hearing more about my experiences, stay tuned for my prison poetry journal next week, as I explain the experience I have with incorporating another one of my passions, yoga, into our poetry workshop. For even more information, contact me at greenspacequeen@yahoo.com.
*Name has been changed