April 2020 Program Updates
Posted by Anna Debenham, March 30, 2020
A Note from Anna, our Founder and Director:
I feel so fortunate that even with self isolation I still have freedom. Freedom to go for walks, freedom to connect with people on the internet, freedom to go get groceries. And the freedom to stay away from people.
Folks in prison don't have that same freedom. They are living in very close quarters, they often have poor physical and mental health and conditions are ripe for contracting COVID-19. As of last Friday all volunteers, visitors, and programs have stopped in Oregon prisons and jails. Groups like ours can be a lifeline to people who are struggling with all sorts of emotional and physical challenges, or simply feeling adrift, alone and caught up in regurgitating thought that won't quit. Our team at the Insight Alliance brings a sense of hope, kindness and love and that's not counting the incredible value of our Insight to Wellbeing programs.
Since being locked out of prison (sounds strange, I know..) I've been sitting in the unknown of what we can do to continue to support the adults and youth in custody during this time. After a great meeting with our team last Monday the idea of starting an interactive newsletter bubbled to the surface.
We reached out and got permission from all the prisons we work in to send a regular newsletter. We'll include stories of hope and resilience, poetry, art contributions...and they are allowed to write back to us. They can share what's going on for them and send their own contributions. Our idea is to create a new sense of connection across all the prisons we work in. I have a feeling this might turn into something bigger than we think.
Of course we don't know yet, but we anticipate receiving a lot of mail. Please reach out to our team if you can imagine being involved in this project in any way. Contributing, letter writing, positive stories, offering financial support - it will all be welcome.
We are also creating a webinar series with well respected teachers in our field, with a focus on human resilience and the strength we all have to find our way through challenging times. The idea is to support past participants and the youth who we can still connect with via zoom, but I think these interviews will also be helpful to everyone right now! We'll post one every couple weeks on our website.
I shall leave you with this piece I read recently:
"You have been offered ‘the gift of crisis’ As Kathleen Norris reminds us. The Greek root of the word crisis is ‘to sift’, as in, to shake out the excess and leave only what’s important. That’s what crises do, they shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away” - Glennon Doyle
With love,
Anna
