First Mothers of the Incarcerated Meeting

The first time we attended the Mothers of the Incarcerated meeting, I knew I was in for a treat, but I didn’t know what exactly to expect. When we walked in at 9 a.m. I saw people gathered in the kitchen having breakfast, which made for a very welcoming environment. Everyone was super friendly and eager to meet us. Amalia along with the rest of the women welcomed us with open arms.

When the meeting began everyone was together, a little later the meeting divided into two groups. One group that was just beginning to share and go on the emotional journey of trying to talk and heal all that they’ve been through and the other group was in their second phase of healing.

Although everything was spoken in Spanish and I am not a fluent Spanish speaker, I felt all the emotions in the room from start to finish. When the women went around the table introducing themselves and sharing their stories, I felt like I actually was able to understand their stories through their emotions. At times I found myself tearing up just based off of all the emotions in the room. When some of these stories were actually translated for me I really understood their stories and truly felt for all these women. They are no different than any other mother. They just wanted to be there for their children. Some of these women lost all their children to death or to incarceration and they are just trying to cope with all the pain. This has to be the hardest thing any mother could ever go through. I could never imagine or want to imagine what kind of pain these women are trying to deal with. What surprised me the most was that there were some young girls there. I actually thought it was amazing that they came to heal with their family as a unit.

During a break, I met Brenda, who heads the second group. The second group knits while they share and continue their healing process. Brenda’s brother is in jail and she’s been trying to be proactive to pass laws to help get him out. She is truly passionate about what she is doing and it really shows when she speaks.

Amalia is a true inspiration and rock for all these women. The fact that she can bring them together in such an environment to help them heal and cope with their loses is an extremely admirable thing to do. If not for her, who would do it? It’s an absolute fantastic idea for these women to get together, it’s a form of group therapy which will definitely help them down the line.