Attorney Brittany K. Barnett is the force behind GEM or Girls Embracing Mothers, a prison program uniting daughters with their moms behind bars. https://girlsembracingmothers.org/v
“We are breaking the cycle
and building the bonds between mothers and daughters. But also between the
girls who are going through a situation, they feel no one else can understand
and they are now with a group, or a family as we call ourselves, who get
it,” Barnett explained.
That family includes mothers from prisons all over the region. “They can
be themselves, the moms can be themselves, and the relationship with the moms
and daughters is overwhelmingly positive,” she said.
To qualify, program participants cannot be
incarcerated for crimes against children or the elderly and must be infraction-free
for six months. But it isn’t just arts and crafts. The mothers take
parenting courses and dive into their goals, spiritually and financially.
Former GEM mom turned employee Angelica Zaragoza remembers being on the other
side of the conversation. “It’s a mixture of all feelings, you’re
happy, you’re excited you’re embarrassed,” she recalled.
“My first visit with my daughter, with GEM,
I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even speak to her. I knew she was
disappointed in me. I knew I had hurt my baby,” she explained.
But things got better with GEM, time, and faith. “God is the center
of it…He knew what I needed. He knows what each one of us needs and He knows
each one of these ladies in here and He knows their hearts,” Zaragoza
said.
Monica Newton jumped at the opportunity to join the program, determined to
create positive memories with her daughter
despite the circumstances. “Callie will ask me, ‘Mommy, how
many days until I get to ride the black bus to come see you?’ It’s something
that we share together that’s really a pleasure,” said Newton.
That’s a positive memory with her daughter despite the
circumstances. “Callie will ask me, ‘Mommy, how many days until I get to
ride the black bus to come see you?’ It’s something that we share together
that’s really a pleasure,” said Newton.
That’s a good thing as a strong family bond can help prevent these moms from returning to prison. “We don’t want that disconnection because once they are released from the facility we still want to make sure that we’re focusing on our recidivism and that they still have that family connection,” Senior Warden Jennifer Cozby told CBN News in an interview.
For Myeshia Garcia that connection goes beyond the relationship with her two girls. “It has brought restoration to my mom. We didn’t have a relationship at all,” she said.
Garcia says she’s determined
to take advantage of this second chance at motherhood. “I didn’t get that
‘God loves you.’ And ‘You’re valuable and wonderfully and fearfully made.’ So I
instill it in them,” she said of her two daughters. good thing as a strong family bond can help
prevent these moms from returning to prison. “We don’t want
that disconnection because once they are released from the facility we still
want to make sure that we’re focusing on our recidivism and that they still
have that family connection,” Senior Warden Jennifer Cozby told CBN News
in an interview.
For Myeshia Garcia that connection goes beyond the
relationship with her two girls. “It has brought restoration
to my mom. We didn’t have a relationship at all,” she said.
Garcia says she’s determined to take advantage of
this second chance at motherhood. “I
didn’t get that ‘God loves you.’ And ‘You’re valuable and wonderfully and
fearfully made.’ So I instill it in them,” she said of her two daughters.
Source – CBN News
