DECEMBER 2006 NEWS AND EVENTS

NEWS

•  3 HOPE former inmates are in college; 3 are in the process of getting their papers together to go to college; many that are still locked up have decided to go to college upon release.

•  All of HOPE students are passing their GED to which they attribute the rise in the EA scores and the GED to the HOPE tutors and the program which provides structure, positive feedback, encourage, and strong accountability.

•  Our artistic women made wreaths out of hula hoops, tissue paper, and bows that were absolutely beautiful. The men stamped the T-shirts that went on the dogs that the children made at the Christmas Parties. The inmates on separate units were involved in a joint project for the children on both.

•  The 2006 evening programs through HOPE collaborators were Parenting, Substance Abuse, Emotional Literacy, Financial Literacy, HIV/AIDS, Effective Communications for Healthy Relationships, Stages of Development in Children, Making Peace with Your Past, Children, our Greatest Blessing and Biggest Challenge, Getting Along with People and Feeling Good About It, Resolving Conflict, God and Money, The Workplace Environment and Citizenship, Easy Strategies for Eating Healthy and Staying Fit on a Low Budget, What to Expect and How to Navigate Upon Release, Anger Management, Survivors' Class.

•  New classes in 2007 will include Sisters SOS (Keeping Women Safe), Debt Free Living, Dress for Success, adding another Substance Abuse Class, and reserving one evening for arts/crafts, drama, mime, sign language, choir, steppers, etc.

•  Substance Abuse programs are being started at Hutchins State Jail in the afternoon after the literacy classes.

•  Lucy Smith is starting a Bible Leadership Training with twelve inmates who want to study in depth and train to teach the Word.

DECEMBER 2006 EVENTS:

•  In December, the HOPE inmates at Hutchins and Dawson put on 7 hugely successful performances complete with costumes of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. None of participants had ever read the book or even heard about it, and neither had the inmate audiences. The participants experienced many character building experiencing while working together (team building).  They learned how to support and encourage each other, how to help someone who dropped his lines, how to keep going with a project when they wanted to quit, how to stay focused even though things were not going very well, how to see satisfaction and enjoyment of their efforts in the faces of those who were watching, and how to enjoy the entire experience. This will be an annual event.

•  Also, in December, HOPE sponsored 2 HOPE 4 the Children events; one for the male inmates at the Hutchins State Jail and one for the women in the Dawson State Jail.  There were 122 children plus their caregivers, inmate parents, volunteers, and unit staff who came together in a most amazing way to make the events successful. Santa USA came with Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty. We had a bounce house, decorated a  tree, made family pictures, etc.

•  The HOPE women at Dawson crocheted lap blankets, scarves, hats for 2 nursing  homes this year plus a homeless ministry. They also crocheted the sweaters, caps, and scarves for the dogs that the children stuffed at both events. These women learned how to ministry to others wanting nothing in return.