We’re going to create sisterhood by uniting marginalized women across the country.
We now have over 2 million people behind bars - 90% are men - leaving millions of women behind to care for kids and family. These women are on the front lines of some incredibly difficult situations, but are receiving little support due to the stigma having an incarcerated loved one brings.
Gina Clayton, founder of Essie Justice Group, has a plan to help these women.
Essie Justice Group works with women from communities that have been hit hardest by mass incarceration to make the world safer and empower women. They have a curriculum that provides trauma healing, managing money through crisis, and advocacy training. They build sisterhood every day. It’s awesome. And we all know...stronger women, stronger everything.
Here’s the problem: right now Essie’s program serves about 50 women (pretty good considering it’s a new nonprofit). But, there are millions of women out there in need. Gina wants to reach those women. She has a plan to take the women of Essie to hold 50 meetings in 50 states to bring their curriculum to women across the country. Their 50 States Tour will end with a summit in Washington D.C.!
Let’s help the women of Essie go national!
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From Gina:
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“I think what we’re doing is really exciting. If you spend a lot of time talking about problems it can be depressing. Essie is fun work because it’s all about this exciting solution. Today nearly 1 in 4 women has a family member in prison in the United States. That number is almost half for black women. This is a huge opportunity to bring together women under this umbrella of shared painful experience. Women are ready for this and this is where the solution lies.”
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The Nitty Gritty:
For our calculations, we estimate the cost of sending 2 Essie women to 5 states, including curriculum training, transportation, childcare, and lodging will be about $10,700.
Here is the breakdown by state:
Dallas, Texas: $1600
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $1600
Jacksonville, Florida: $2500
New York, New York: $2500
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: $2500
$10,700 is the amount we need to get this program running in the first 5 states. Any money raised beyond this goal will go towards going to more states. Let's really come together to empower these women!
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Hi, I'm Dijon of Souls of Society. We're a storytelling organization that connects community by telling uplifting stories that increase compassion, empathy, and spiritual awareness. We have a large community and one of our members connected me with Essie.
I care about Essie and wanted to spotlight them because they support women who are trying to hold a family together after the male presence has been taken away. My dad wasn’t incarcerated, but he wasn’t around. I saw how hard it was for my mother to give me a normal life. She raised me as a single parent and broke her back to provide me with everything I needed and most of what I wanted.
What the women of Essie are going through is heavy. The women affected may feel too burdened and ashamed to ask for help and other people in the community may not be aware or know how to engage and help. Souls of Society’s role is to redirect that heavy energy through uplifting story telling that leads people towards solutions and empowerment.
People have a hard time asking for help. SOULS changes the focus from “asking for help” to creating a story people can resonate and engage with.
We help create intimacy. Thanks for your time and support.
