Four Master of Social Work (MSW) Students, Brandi Stokes, Christian Thompson, Kyra Spengler, and Mandi Carroll, all worked together to create a simulation at The Family Preservation Project's (FPP) Day of Empathy event. The simulation highlighted the communication barriers mothers and their families experienced in Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF). Through this simulation, they hoped that attendees would empathize with the challenges faced by incarcerated mothers and their families as they struggled to connect and communicate.
Each annual Day of Empathy (DoE) event centers around a specific theme. This year’s DoE focused on the communication barriers between incarcerated mothers and their families, highlighting the trauma of familial separation. The event was held on February 29th, 2024, at the Ike Box Cafe in Salem, OR, consisting of a simulation experience, a debrief over lunch, and a listening session uplifting the voices of three families who were separated by incarceration.
DoE is an opportunity to connect justice-involved individuals with legislators, policymakers, and the public to raise awareness and influence opinions. This event aims to create a platform for dialogue and understanding, allowing stakeholders to gain a firsthand understanding of the impacts of carceral policies on individuals and communities. The event hopes to shift perspectives and inspire action toward more compassionate and equitable alternatives by highlighting carceral policies' far-reaching and adverse effects.
The Family Preservation Project (FPP) partnered with Dream Corps Justice, a national advocacy organization, to organize and facilitate the annual DoE alongside the four graduate students.
Stokes, Thompson, Spengler, and Carroll, members of the Macro Social Work cohort, were placed in a group together because of their shared personal and professional commitment to Criminal Legal Reform, the lack of justice and humanity within the criminal system. Their project's aim was to pinpoint a social movement or campaign for potential partnership or involvement. To direct this search, each student interviewed local stakeholders engaged in the criminal legal system.
After numerous outreach to organizations, the students contacted Jessica Katz, the FPP Director at YWCA of Greater Portland. The FPP is an organization that seeks to “interrupt the intergenerational cycle of criminal legal involvement, poverty, and addiction.” They promote individual and system level change to reduce the collateral consequences of parental incarceration on children, families, and the community.
The team found common ground in their shared vision of a world without prisons and a focus on care rather than punishment. The students explained, “As we established the partnership between our group and FPP, we agreed on the ‘Day of Empathy’ as the perfect way to engage. FPP was interested in adding a somatic experience to the DoE event to ground attendees in the harsh realities faced by mothers in custody. Our team was tasked with researching and designing a simulation highlighting the communication barriers mothers and their families experienced in (CCCF)”.
The simulation allowed participants to assume the role of a parent living in CCCF or a family member assisting their incarcerated loved one and invited DoE attendees to travel through different processes and barriers imposed by the punishment system. Through this simulation, they hoped that attendees would empathize with the challenges faced by incarcerated mothers and their families as they struggled to connect and communicate.
While compiling this event over the course of the Winter term, their team heard stories from mothers who were previously incarcerated. The team researched the complex communication systems used in CCCF. Utilizing these stories, research, and feedback from the FPP team, they developed a 40-minute simulation experience.
The team agreed that their objectives were successfully achieved during the simulation. The students said, “Participants were actively involved and appeared deeply immersed in the simulation's gravity. Engaging in the event and hearing firsthand accounts provided valuable insights into the extensive ramifications of parental incarceration”.
They explained:
On a more personal note, this project was incredibly moving. Hearing the stories of women who have suffered at the hands of the criminal legal system further underscores the need for reform. These mothers spoke of the shame and guilt they felt for not being able to contact their families while incarcerated, despite the fact that their struggles to connect were primarily due to the unnecessarily complex communication systems in place at CCCF. Each time we heard from previously incarcerated women, we were astounded at the multitude of barriers they faced, even just trying to call their children. Many women expressed that while they understood their incarceration was the consequence of their actions, their children and families should not be punished alongside them. Many of the women we heard from worked for years, during and after their incarceration, to repair the familial bonds damaged by their inability to communicate and connect. The strength these women possess is amazing.
Another takeaway from the team was:
What was prevalent throughout this whole process was that this trauma and damage were unnecessary. The processes to register for phone calls and video visits and the rules regarding visitation are arbitrary; these systems do not need to be as difficult to navigate as they are. They were created by people who likely will never be affected by them and do not understand the reality of how these processes play out. These systems obviously need to change, but the change must be spearheaded by those who have experienced the barriers firsthand. Only by uplifting the voices and power of those who have lived expertise can we create a better system and imagine a different future, free of the unjust “justice” system.
Moreover, the students expressed how recognizing the distinct challenges faced by individuals with diverse identities underscored how incarceration can exacerbate the hardships of marginalized groups. The team emphasized that while labeling this awareness as a success may seem unconventional, grasping the profound impact of systemic oppression is crucial for fostering a genuine commitment to this cause.