How Stationery Affects Incarcerated Women
case study conducted by Ashley Erin Holness, pictured above
Background Information
ShareLove.Fund is a nonprofit yoga school in Rye, New York. In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, many people suffered and faced difficult times. Ashley Share, the founder of Share.Love.Fund recognized the circumstances of many women during the pandemic and lockdown. Due to this, Share decided to open a yoga school in 2020. She saw a need to help unemployed, incarcerated, and economically disadvantaged women in New York and assist women who had been victims of abuse and crime.
Share decided to use yoga, the perfect combination of physical and mental activity, to assist incarcerated women in achieving mental peace and developing the ability to advocate for themselves. She desired to give them all a reason to live. Her experience with a yoga certification course inspired her to use the method.
"I thought, what has helped me? What has empowered me as a woman? This yoga teaching degree made me feel more in control and helped me make better decisions. I have a skill, and I can give them a teaching credential and take them through this process of earning the credential, which is empowering," said Share.
As an attorney with knowledge of the legal system, Share is well suited to assist women held in custody. She understands the legal system and is well aware of women’s experiences while awaiting their trials. Furthermore, she understands the stress women face before, during, and after hearings.
The primary goal of the yoga school is to empower young women by providing them with opportunities to earn a living, develop self-esteem, and learn new skills. Due to the pandemic, many women sought financial assistance to meet their basic needs. Yoga classes and certification programs are offered at the yoga school as a form of financial assistance. It is the objective of the program to facilitate the independence and self-sufficiency of young women.
Share organizes yoga and meditation classes through ShareLove.Fund's yoga school to assist women in dealing with stressful situations. She has directed all of her efforts and energy toward empowering young women to stand on their own and lead respectable lives on their own.
One of ShareLove.Fund’s missions is to give hope to incarcerated women in their times of need during imprisonment. To do this, Share.Love.Fund provides imprisoned women with stationery. The stationery allows incarcerated women to stay connected with the outside world. This sense of connection is essential for the rehabilitation of an inmate because it will enable them to regain a sense of normalcy from the prison culture they are emersed in.
The rise of the pandemic has made communicating with loved ones more vital than ever before. Inmates never fully know if their loved ones are safe and healthy. All women in Rikers Island are someone's mother, sister, or daughter. It is for this reason that jail stationery remains one of the most valuable items in the facility. Providing a consistently reliable way for inmates to reach out to the world is imperative.
What are we providing and how?
Imprisoned women remain one of the world's most uneducated demographics. According to the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and Correction (DOC), 80 percent of inmates are estimated to be without a Diploma or GED. The problem with this is that upon entering back into society, inmates will have a lack of opportunities available to them.
Vocational education is provided for inmates along with GED and other Degree classes. For incarcerated women, these certifications and degrees are a way to alter the course of their lives. Receiving an RYT 200 (200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification) has many upsides for incarcerated women.
Aside from creating a living off of a yoga certification, studies show that practicing yoga has led to inmates having an increased mood, reduced stress, and better behavior control. In fact, inmates who regularly practice yoga have a drastically lower recidivism rate.
Inmates face many problems upon release, including not knowing where to begin and feeling disconnected from their families. Roughly 85 percent of all imprisoned women at Rikers Island are mothers and primary caregivers. The time away from their children is valuable time that these mothers will not be able to get back. Hence, why access to stationery is so precious among these women.
Share.Love.Fund has recognized this and has provided these women with additional stationery so they can reach out to their families. Share, as well as her children and volunteers, have dedicated hours to sorting and stamping envelopes. Reaching out to women and directly impacting them has always been the ultimate goal of Share.Love.Fund.
Because of this, Share.Love.Fund has made other attempts at reaching out to women at Rikers Island. On March 8th, Ashley Share and Share.Love.Fund’s principal therapeutic harpist, Wendy Kerner, gave a 90-minute harp concert and a presentation in honor of International Women’s Day. Share.Love.Fund hopes to provide Rikers Island with a harp in December.
Imprisoned women have gone through many difficult experiences in their lifetime. Providing these women with resources such as an education, a way to connect to family, and opportunities that will help them rejoin society is the only way to make a lasting impact on these women’s lives.
Outcome
Through the eyes of inmates at the Rose M. Singer Center in Rikers Island, the generous contributions of Share.Love.Fund has changed lives. The vast majority of women who enter Rikers Island are awaiting trials and experiencing a great deal of stress. Nevertheless, putting aside their various backgrounds and reasons for being at Rikers Island, they share one thing in common - a need for guidance.
Astonishingly, 85 percent of women on Rikers Island suffer from substance abuse disorders, 80 percent have histories of violence and trauma, and 60 percent suffer from mental illness. Once these women are released, they may be free from their sentence, but they will still fight these underlying issues.
It is challenging to become self-reliant when you have experienced abuse, trauma, or mental illness - as these women have. That is why the work Share.Love.Fund does remains of paramount importance. It is incredible how touched people have become by this organization. Not only have inmates been affected, but young women from all around the world.
As one of Share.Love.Fund’s many young volunteers, I have experienced the hard work that goes into creating something beautiful and life-changing. Knowing that every stationery set I assemble is going to a good cause makes it worth the effort. As someone interested in social issues, such as prison reform and access to education, I am grateful for every opportunity I receive to support and learn from Share.Love.Fund.
The parents of the volunteers are big supporters of the organization as well. The opportunity to impact imprisoned women at Rikers Island so closely - at such a young age - is not common. Thus, the volunteers who choose to contribute work much harder to take advantage of the opportunity. Hence, why parents of Share.Love.Fund volunteers are proud and pleased with the work their children contribute.
Conclusion
The primary objective of providing stationery for imprisoned women is to aid in rehabilitation. Although providing stationery is just the beginning of what Share.Love.Fund plans to accomplish. Moving forward, Share.Love.Fund is working to create more outreach to young women everywhere. More than 1,000 teenagers and women aged 9 - 60 have been positively impacted by Share.Love.Fund’s services.
Having graduated from and volunteered with Share.Love.Fund, I have witnessed the impact of the organization's mission first-hand. I initially started practicing yoga with Share.Love.Fund at 15 years old. After receiving my RYT 200, I realized I had a visceral passion for yoga. Particularly the sense of community and the feeling of leadership and public speaking.
Share.Love.Fund not only provided me with credentials but also nurtured my passions. If Ashley Share had not taught me that letting go of things that are not serving me is okay and that being empowered means being able to set boundaries, I would not be who I am today.
Additionally, I would not have had the courage to pursue opportunities for which I did not think I would be selected. Today, I am the President of Share.Love.Fund’s Youth Advisory Board. Ashley Share has inspired me and countless others, and I plan to do the same for my fellow members.
The goal of Share.Love.Fund was to give hope to incarcerated women during their times of need while imprisoned. Share.Love.Fund has done more than that. The organization has not only given hope but has given these women a future for themselves and their families.
The lotus flower is the organization's symbol because it describes many people impacted by Share.Love.Fund. A lotus flower grows from the mud. Although you find yourself in the mud today, that does not mean you cannot bloom into a beautiful flower tomorrow, similarly to the imprisoned women at Rikers. Who are capable of working to create a beautiful life for themselves and their families despite their hardships.
