Spotlight on Women & Girls
Brought to you by the Portland Women's Task Force
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Welcome to the Portland Women's Taskforce May 2008 e-newsletter. Because incarcerated women and girls face unique challenges, we chose to highlight links, programs and publications that focus on helping and supporting incarcerated women and girls. We have also included training updates, event details, special educational and broadcast series'. We look forward to ongoing commentary on these and other topics specific to substance-abusing women and mothers in the Portland area.
Sincerely,
Amanda Edgar & Ronni Katz
City of Portland's Overdose Prevention Project
Members, Portland Women's Taskforce
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The Women's Addiction Services Council 28th Annual Silver Tea
Celebrating Women in Recovery: May 15, 2008
"Recovery from the disease of alcoholism or drug addiction is a reality for thousands of Maine women. The Silver Tea honors these women and celebrates their success over the past months, years, or decades. In 2007, 101 women gathered at the Blaine House in Augusta to celebrate a collective 267 years and 3 months of recovery from alcohol and drug dependence."
This year, Nancy DeYoung (pictured) spoke about
her own recovery journey.
To Learn More about the WASC, go to:
www.mainelighthouse.org
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 Women's Leadership Training Initiative (WLTI):
Updates from Deb Dettor & Nancy DeYoung
"The Maine Alliance for
Addiction Recovery was proud and excited to host Maine's first Recovering
Women's Leadership Training series May 2, 3, and 4th in Portland! The NH
Taskforce on Women and Recovery sent two seasoned trainers to conduct this
workshop with 17 women from all around our state. This was a powerful learning
experience for the participants who expressed their desire to use their new
skills to support other women in recovery.
MAAR thanks AdCare for its support
as the event cosponsor and Noel DeYoung of the Woodfords Club who went out of
her way to make the space and food enjoyable for attendees. In addition, the
Bangor City Health & Community Services and CAP Quality Care lent their
support by covering travel and lodging costs to sponsor a number of women. MAAR
is currently exploring funding mechanisms to expand this training throughout
Maine and to make Women's Leadership Training a sustainable workshop for
recovering women."
-Deb
"I recently attended The NH Taskforce for Women in Recovery Leadership
training in Portland. I found the training very empowering and inspiring. I left
the training on Sunday with not only a desire to continue on helping others in
recovery but a sense of appreciation to all the struggles we as woman face in
recovery. I would definitly recommend this training to any woman in recovery and
I hope to be able to attend a trainers training in the future to be able to
facilitate trainings in the future."
-Nancy
FMI about this and future WLTI opportunities, contact Deb Dettor at the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery (MAAR) at ddettor@masap.org or call (207)458-4366
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Moms Observe Journey to Sobriety &
More Young Mothers Addicted on Opiates:
A 2-Part Series on MPBN
Mothers' Day is "...a day set aside to celebrate a bond that
is central in most peoples' lives. For one group of Moms it will be a
time to recognize a hard-fought journey to sobriety. That's because an
increasing number of young women in Maine are finding themselves
addicted to opiates and also pregnant."
Click Here for Part 1
Click Here for Part 2
(Thank you to Deb Dettor from MAAR for sharing this link!)
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The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family:
 A 4-Week Educational Series
"The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family" explores
the basics of addiction, the recovery process and how to be supportive of an
addicted loved one while also taking care of you. The 4-week series is held on
Tuesday evenings in a positive, supportive environment. Free parking is
available. Light refreshments are served. Certificates of attendance will be
presented at the end of the series.
This series is for concerned friends and family members who
have a loved one, male or female, with a substance abuse problem that may or may
not be in treatment at this time. Adult women and men are welcome. FMI Contact Jennifer Barbour
Phone: 207-773-9931 ext. 128
Email at jbarbour@crossroadsforwomen.org
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Regoinal Services Offered to Incarcerated Women
Women Unlimited, Women In Need & The Women's Center at MCC
Women Unlimited
"Women Unlimited reaches out to incarcerated individuals who are
interested in careers in trades, transportation, and technology. We
bring certified instructors into prisons teaching Construction Math,
Blueprint Reading, and Hand and Power Tools introductory courses." Click Here FMI About Women Unlimited's Prison Outreach Program
The Women's Center at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham
"The mission of the Women's Center is to provide incarcerated
women with a gender-responsive relational community. We recognize that many women offenders have life experiences that
diminish their feelings of personal effectiveness and value; therefore,
the goal of the Women's Center is to provide direction and
incentives for positive spiritual growth." Click Here FMI About the Programs Offerred @ The Women's Center
Women In Need, Inc.: A Doorway to Hope
"Doorway to Hope is a transitional program designed to help reduce the barriers faced by women coming out of incarceration. The program gives women the tools to successfully re-integrate themselves back into the community."
Click Here FMI About the Doorway to Hope Transitional Program
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National Publications, Programs & Links
Women, Girls & Incarceration
The Center for Young Women's Development
"The Center for Young Women's Development (CYWD) is one
of the first non-profits in the United States run and led entirely by young women.
From the beginning, we have organized young women who were the most marginalized in San Francisco -
those in the street economies and the juvenile justice system -
to design and deliver peer-to-peer education and support." Click Here for the CYWD's Website & Program Info
Our Children's Place: Uniting Families
OCP is a residential initiative allowing young children (babies and
preschoolers) to live with their mothers while the women serve out
their sentences for nonviolent offenses. It is designed to: "break the intergenerational cycle of crime, poverty, substance abuse and family violence" and to "empower the child with the help of his/her mother to enhance his/her cognitive, social, physical and emotional development."
Click Here for the OCP Website & Program History
The Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign
"A long-term effort, the
Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign is unique in that it incorporates a
number of public television documentaries over several years...GIRL TROUBLE is an intimate look at the compelling personal stories of
three teenagers entangled in San Francisco's juvenile justice system.
These girls, and many like them, aren't just at-risk- they are in deep
trouble."
Click Here for Information About the PBS Independent Lens Documentary "Girl Trouble"
Jailed Women in California Choose Children, Treatment Over Teeth
"Incarcerated women in California are being forced to choose between
healthy teeth or seeing their children and having access to a substance
abuse treatment or vocational program. To gain access to such programs,
they must not have any pre-existing health problems. This is due to the
fact that the 3 women's institutions were left at the bottom of an
implementation schedule designed to improve dental care in all state
prisons over 3 years."(Thanks to Jen Barbour from Crossroads for sharing this link!)
Click Here for the Full Article from Crossroads for Women's Blog New Hampshire: Community-Based Group Collaborates With State Corrections Agency to Provide Leadership Training for Incarcerated Women
by Niki Miller, M.S., C.P.S. (New Hampshire Taskforce on Women & Recovery)
"In July 2005, I stood in front of 40 women, their folding metal chairs crammed into a gray room at Shea Farm, New Hampshire's minimum security/halfway house facility for women. I was holding an outreach session for a peer-led organization of women in co-occurring recovery from alcohol and drug problems, trauma, and mental health issues..." Click Here for the Full Article from Women, Girls & Criminal Justice
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Local Treatment & Recovery-Related Resources for Women & Girls
While the discussion about how to best support providers and women seeking treatment continues, we have prepared a list of resources available to women in our community.
Click Here for a list of Local Treatment Providers Click Here for Support Services & Publications
Specific to Women & Girls
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Portland Women's Taskforce on  Yahoo! Groups
The Portland Women's Taskforce has created an email group using Yahoo!
Groups. If you would like to be a part of the email group, please go
to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/portlandwomenstaskforce/
or email Ronni Katz at rmk@portlandmaine.gov
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Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be held on June 4, 2008 from 1:30-3:00 at Maine Medical Center's Dana Center, Classroom 2. Please RSVP and if you have any agenda items to add, please let us know. RSVP Ronni at 756-8116 or rmk@portlandmaine.gov
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