PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As the number of women behind bars in the U.S. continues to skyrocket, recent data shows more than 60% have been forced to leave behind a child under the age of 18.
These statistics along with the growing social and economic impacts of mass incarceration have prompted the Family Preservation Project (FPP) and Dream Corps JUSTICE to organize the state’s second Annual Day of Empathy.
The virtual event is slated to include art presentations and public discussions, which focus on how to reduce the collateral consequences of parental incarceration on children, families, and the community through changes at state and community levels.
Nova Sweet, the Oregon ambassador for the National Empathy Network for Dreams Corps JUSTICE and FPP Lead Community Organizer, told KOIN 6 News she herself was a formerly incarcerated mother and speaks from experience when saying the current system is broken.
“I was incarcerated for 36 months,” Sweet stated. “So, my lens is that, and I think we would all benefit from having more voices at the table from people with lived experience -whether that’s somebody who has been incarcerated, a child of incarcerated parents, or somebody who has been victimized.”
As the partnered organizations have focused on policy change in the past, Sweet said today’s event is aimed at raising awareness and creating a dialogue (from all perspectives) on how to address incarceration-related impacts, disrupt harmful systems, and imagine change for the future.
“We all can agree that we want our communities safe, our families whole, and our economy strong,” Sweet said. “Today, we’re hoping to bring people together and imagine a world that centers care and not punishment when addressing harm, while recognizing there’s a huge binary of victims and perpetrators in the personal prison industrial complex at this moment.”
According to Sweet, when a parent is incarcerated, that punishment does not just impact the person who has committed a crime, but often affects family members and puts further strain on community programs and resources.
Sweet told KOIN 6 News this ripple effect is most true when a mother is incarcerated.
“Prisons were designed for men, so when we send a mother to prison, we’re sending a child and a whole family,” Sweet explained. “It costs our community a lot more money to send a mother to prison because of the custody of her children. As moms are usually the primary caregivers, there are all sorts of systems that get additionally stressed when we send them away.
Sweet said the event is not about letting mothers ‘off the hook’ or removing punishments for those guilty of crimes, but centers on developing new tactics to address punishment in a way that does not harm innocent people or place additional strain on systems and taxpayers’ wallets.
The increased impact of female imprisonment was highlighted in a recent report conducted by the Sentencing Project, which found a stark rise in the rate of female incarceration in Oregon and around the U.S.
“Over the past quarter century, there has been a profound change in the involvement of women within the criminal justice system,” the report stated. “This is the result of more expansive law enforcement efforts, stiffer drug sentencing laws, and post-conviction barriers to reentry that uniquely affect women. The female incarcerated population stands over seven times higher than in 1980.”
To address the barrier concerns and increase options for incarcerated women, Sweet told KOIN 6 News FPP with the YWCA of Greater Portland are currently working on a gender responsive and trauma informed approach to addressing mothers in prison with the Coffee Creek Correctional facility.
Nova said she hopes today’s discussion and her personal story can help shed light on this issue and destigmatize incarceration.
“We absolutely have harmed the community. And that’s the problem, but I also know that not any one of us is perfect,” Sweet said. “My kids lost their mom for 36 months when I went away and had to deal with guilt and shame… It’s not a prideful thing that I was incarcerated, but I don’t have to hide it and I want that for other people’s stories.”
She continued, “Yes, I messed up, but I’m accountable. I made a choice between difficult and non-existent options, but I’m here now to offer a different perspective and hopefully, the magic of FPP and empathy catches on, and other people try it. This is about expanding our lens, shifting our paradigm, knowing that we all have our own stories. I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to give back and create some sort of change.”
Oregon’s Annual Day of Empathy is open to the public and will be held over Zoom, March 30, starting at 3:00 p.m. Click here for details on how to register.