Boston's NPR station WBUR stopped by the wall the other day and interviewed a few of the ladies from the McGrath House about their challenges coming out of incarceration and what See Her means to them. This is Laura, the woman who appears in the piece. She's tenacious, kind, and highly motivated- I could see that from the moment I met her. The uphill battle incarcerated women find themselves in is severe. They cannot get financial assistance, food stamps, or subsidized housing. Couple that with the steep challenge of finding a job with a criminal record and the hurdles just get higher. If we want healthy communities and lower recidivism rates we not only need to be putting programs in place that help the formerly incarcerated succeed but also as a society we must de-stigmatize what it means to be incarcerated. There is so much judgement passed when we don't know their full stories, the lack of resources that got them there, and the trauma that most incarcerated women go through before they end up in prison. See Her is my attempt to humanize the stigmatized- to offer the public a glimpse of her humanity, and to unmask the invisible subculture in our country of those struggling within the highly dysfunctional criminal justice system. You can listen to the segment and learn more about how you can get involved by clicking the link in my bio. #seeherBOS #nowandthere #annlewis #publicart #boston #wbur #npr #massincarceration #thedignityofincarceratedwomenact #crj #mcgrathhouse (at South End, Boston)
