Incarceration Hits Women and Mothers Hard

In Thirteen, Sylvia A. Harvey describes the conditions faced by women and mothers who are incarcerated, the effects on their children, the rise in the number of incarcerated women, and the work of organizations like Osborne that are advocating for change.

“The Osborne Association offers the “Visiting and Family Assistance Program” at Rosie’s. Women in the program receive in-person visits, video visits from office spaces with social work support, classes such as “parenting virtually” and “parenting from a distance,” and more. Led by Archana Jayaram, Osborne is a nonprofit that seeks to help “heal lives and communities impacted by incarceration,” also works to transform criminal justice systems. Osborne is a member of WCJA’s Justice 4 Women Task Force and supports the call for a standalone women’s jail with gender informed support.

Alongside direct support, Osborne advocates for legislative change, including the Connecting Families New York Act, which would provide incarcerated New Yorkers with access to free phone calls and emails to their loved ones; and The Elder Parole Bill, which would provide parole-hearing eligibility for anyone 55 years of age or older who has served at least 15-years.”

Harvey also describes her experiences as the child of an incarcerated parent, sharing, “I was led to this work because of what I experienced and witnessed as a child. I remain in this work because of what I continue to see and the reality that this issue is greater than me or any single story. My father has been free for nearly a decade. Still, I can’t ignore the racial bias and structural inequality embedded in our criminal legal system – or the way an entire segment of our population is treated as disposable.

It may not be your mother, sister, daughter, wife, or friend who experiences incarceration, but mass incarceration carries a cumulative social, emotional, and economic cost. Not just for those directly impacted, but all of us.”

Read the full article here.