Sheriff Swanson shedding shame with a little "Mama Love" to restore hope
Influential women from across the country flew in to Flint, Michigan to view an innovative jail program and instill hope.
"I went through a rally dark time when I was locked up and when I had no hope. I had no vision for what life was gonna look like,” said New York Times best-selling author Lara Love Hardin.
Hardin suffered from destructive side effects of an opioid addiction sixteen years ago. It's hard to believe considering she's a six times New York Times best-selling author. She chronicled her struggle in her own book titled, "The Many Lives of Mama Love". It was an Oprah Book Club pick.
Hardin says she's still haunted by the torture of not seeing her four young boys while spending a year in jail after she plead guilty to 32 felony charges. The emotional scar is why she’s trying to reach the 162-thousand women in jails and prisons across the country. 80% of them are like her, mothers with young children.
"It was almost impossible and you really didn’t have anyone advocating for you," said Hardin.
She and co-founder Cynthia Chase started The Gemma Project to provide women with programs to meet their needs during and after incarceration.
"I have never heard a judge address a male defendant and say, 'Where are your children? Who’s taking care of them?', but women are asked this all the time," said Chase.
Chase says women are part of a growing demographic imprisoned by an inequitable system of incarceration in America.
"Women are held to this other standard, right? So it’s not just the crime that you’re there for, but it’s also the stigma and the obligation of being a mother," said Chase.
The Gemma Project starts in jail by implementing evidence-based practices to meet the needs of women and reduce recidivism. Women make up ten percent of a jail’s population and most programs are designed for men.
"A lot of women in our facility are single moms, they get out of here they don’t have to just worry about taking care of themselves they have to worry about taking care of their families and rebuilding any kind of structure that was out there,” said Captain Jillian Macey with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Chris Swanson invited Chase and Hardin to be special guests at his jailhouse school graduation. It's called IGNITE. It's an acronym for inmate growth naturally and intentionally through education. A recent Harvard study concluded Swanson’s program benefits the entire community by lowering crime and the number of people returning to jail.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony. It was her first time attending an IGNITE event in the Genesee County Jail.
“I wasn’t sure to expect to be honest. Sheriff Swanson has been a real leader and the best hype man and that’s why i wanted to be here to take it in myself," said Whitmer.
Whitmer said the entire experience was inspirational and showed what the people of Michigan are capable of doing.
The Gemma Project held focus groups with female inmates and delivered the results to Sheriff Swanson's team.
“I’ve got great female leadership here, but if I can have somebody come from another outside view and say, you’re doing great, but think about making these few changes to be even better, I evolve," said Swanson.
The Gemma Project hopes to continue to collaborate with Sheriff Swanson and believes he can have a bigger influence on other sheriffs across the country to institute changes in America's jails.
Hardin believes the change starts with those who are incarcerated and hope is the most powerful tool in their arsenal.
"Nobody can lock up your imagination or your vision or your potential. It’s impossible to lock up. There’s no bars that can contain that,” said Hardin.
To learn more about The Gemma Project go to: thegemmaproject.org