Hello Everyone,
Okay so I've never blogged before...this is an entirely new experience for me. As you may know by now Anne and Laura are working with the Church of the Brethren here in Cincinnati. They are kept very busy with different projects/planning, etc...They have alot of great ideas about what they hope to accomplish by year's end. I'll let them tell you more about it. Ben is our lone male in the house, but as he has been in BVS before and lived with four other girls (yikes!), he has been able to adjust pretty well as far as I can tell. In last week's blog, Ben shared a little about his experiences at his new job (Interfaith Hospitality Network). It's interesting, don't you think??
Laura, Anne, and Ben truly care about the people they are working for...it shows everytime I talk to them about what they are doing. I'm blessed to be able to share this new experience with them.
As for me, I am working at the Talbert House as the new coordinator of the mentor program for women. It is an inter-agency collaborative comprised of about eight other agencies/programs in Cincinnati i.e. Pathways Halfway House, Rewards Jail Intervention, Alcoholism Council, First Step Home (residential, outpatient, transitional housing for women with substance abuse and their children), Sheriff's Department, etc... They realized that as many of these women were in these programs either concurrently/consecutively, they needed to come together and form a program that would allow for someone (mentor) to help guide these women through the complicated criminal justice system. Incarceration is a revolving door for many people, but it is hoped that this new mentor program will help in reducing Hamilton County's high recidivism rates. It is now my job to get this program up and running.
These past two weeks have been a whirlwind for me. So many new places and new faces. I've been going around to the other agencies we are working with in order to get a feel for what they are doing. So far, I have been over to Pathways, RJI, and the Hamilton County Jail/Pretrial Services. I don't think I will ever forget those experiences. I sat in on some group sessions at RJI (Residential facility for incarcerated women), and the women there welcomed me as though I had known them forever instead of just one hour. I looked around at all of them and it became very personal--as Ben said. I could have been them. A few missed steps and you are in a place in your life that you never thought you would be....
I also had a very eye-opening experience when I was given a top to bottom tour of the Hamilton County Jail. Apparently, due to its size and the amount of prisoners, it is ranked in the top 25 of this country's biggest jails. The officers that showed me around didn't leave anything out. I sat in on two meetings with a narcotics officer and two jail informants. I was taken up to the maximum security part of the jail. There I saw sex offenders, murderers, men on suicide watch, and even a serial killer awaiting trial for the horrible murders he commmited against young women. I went with the officer right up to his cell...he looked right at me, or should I say through me. I didn't exist at all to him. Believe me, something like that stays with you.
On a more positive note, we are all well-fed here at the manor. Laura is a master chef extraordinaire. We look to her for advise and guidance in the kitchen. Ben is probably one of the most easy-going/laid-back people you will ever meet...and he loves to do the dishes. That's a big plus!!! Anne is extremely organized, and can always get things done when they need to be.
And get this!! We don't have to leave our home to find entertainment. Our neighbors across the street are quite the exhibitionists! They have a huge window into their dining room and they seem reluctant to want to have their blinds down. Hmmm....interesting. It's like a dinner theatre (They are the actors and we are the enraptured audience). We'll be eating dinner at our table and through our glass door we can see right into their dining room. Please don't think we are nosy neighbors...it honestly can't be helped!! I think they like the attention. They have to know we are watching right? We aren't discrete about it...at all.
Thanks for reading. We'll be keeping you informed about our other happenings....stay tuned.
Your friend,
Okay so I've never blogged before...this is an entirely new experience for me. As you may know by now Anne and Laura are working with the Church of the Brethren here in Cincinnati. They are kept very busy with different projects/planning, etc...They have alot of great ideas about what they hope to accomplish by year's end. I'll let them tell you more about it. Ben is our lone male in the house, but as he has been in BVS before and lived with four other girls (yikes!), he has been able to adjust pretty well as far as I can tell. In last week's blog, Ben shared a little about his experiences at his new job (Interfaith Hospitality Network). It's interesting, don't you think??
Laura, Anne, and Ben truly care about the people they are working for...it shows everytime I talk to them about what they are doing. I'm blessed to be able to share this new experience with them.
As for me, I am working at the Talbert House as the new coordinator of the mentor program for women. It is an inter-agency collaborative comprised of about eight other agencies/programs in Cincinnati i.e. Pathways Halfway House, Rewards Jail Intervention, Alcoholism Council, First Step Home (residential, outpatient, transitional housing for women with substance abuse and their children), Sheriff's Department, etc... They realized that as many of these women were in these programs either concurrently/consecutively, they needed to come together and form a program that would allow for someone (mentor) to help guide these women through the complicated criminal justice system. Incarceration is a revolving door for many people, but it is hoped that this new mentor program will help in reducing Hamilton County's high recidivism rates. It is now my job to get this program up and running.
These past two weeks have been a whirlwind for me. So many new places and new faces. I've been going around to the other agencies we are working with in order to get a feel for what they are doing. So far, I have been over to Pathways, RJI, and the Hamilton County Jail/Pretrial Services. I don't think I will ever forget those experiences. I sat in on some group sessions at RJI (Residential facility for incarcerated women), and the women there welcomed me as though I had known them forever instead of just one hour. I looked around at all of them and it became very personal--as Ben said. I could have been them. A few missed steps and you are in a place in your life that you never thought you would be....
I also had a very eye-opening experience when I was given a top to bottom tour of the Hamilton County Jail. Apparently, due to its size and the amount of prisoners, it is ranked in the top 25 of this country's biggest jails. The officers that showed me around didn't leave anything out. I sat in on two meetings with a narcotics officer and two jail informants. I was taken up to the maximum security part of the jail. There I saw sex offenders, murderers, men on suicide watch, and even a serial killer awaiting trial for the horrible murders he commmited against young women. I went with the officer right up to his cell...he looked right at me, or should I say through me. I didn't exist at all to him. Believe me, something like that stays with you.
On a more positive note, we are all well-fed here at the manor. Laura is a master chef extraordinaire. We look to her for advise and guidance in the kitchen. Ben is probably one of the most easy-going/laid-back people you will ever meet...and he loves to do the dishes. That's a big plus!!! Anne is extremely organized, and can always get things done when they need to be.
And get this!! We don't have to leave our home to find entertainment. Our neighbors across the street are quite the exhibitionists! They have a huge window into their dining room and they seem reluctant to want to have their blinds down. Hmmm....interesting. It's like a dinner theatre (They are the actors and we are the enraptured audience). We'll be eating dinner at our table and through our glass door we can see right into their dining room. Please don't think we are nosy neighbors...it honestly can't be helped!! I think they like the attention. They have to know we are watching right? We aren't discrete about it...at all.
Thanks for reading. We'll be keeping you informed about our other happenings....stay tuned.
Your friend,
Katie
Great blog, Katie. I'd never guess you were a rookie at this. The last paragraph is probably my favorite. Rock on.
ReplyDeleteWe have new neighbors below us that like to use their surround sound when either playing video games or watching tv. I think most of the time, they're gaming (there's a lot of explosions). I kind of feel like I'm playing video games with them because they're so loud. Oh, neighbors!
ReplyDelete