W.O.M.E.N. Goes to Prison
W.O.M.E.N. is bringing P.O.W.E.R. to the prisons. Through a partnership with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), W.O.M.E.N. has been granted access to incarcerated women in a Metropolitan Davidson County Detention Facility. W.O.M.E.N. will be Providing Our Women with Education upon Release (P.O.W.E.R.). This curriculum- based education intervention will increase HIV prevention education, treatment and awareness among incarcerated women, increase community linkages and networks to ensure care and social services are available for incarcerated women upon release, and increase the availability of HIV testing to high risk incarcerated women. This program is the first of its kind allowed in a correctional facility in Nashville.
According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC); as of July 2012, there are 2,506 women incarcerated in Davidson County. Through P.O.W.E.R., W.O.M.E.N. is helping to give these ladies the tools they need in order to have the self-esteem, self awareness, and self efficacy needed to make positive choices and change their behaviors so that they become productive citizens upon release.
This new partnership allows W.O.M.E.N. to bridge critical gaps in the community by educating and preparing these women for pre-release.