Roxanne Harris never thought she would be coordinating a women’s prison ministry, but after 13 years, she continues to serve the community and enjoys every moment of it.
Woman2Woman Empower-ment, founded by Harris in 1998, evolved from a small women’s bible study to a faith-based community service organization, ministering to women. The organization offers multiple programs including a women’s alliance, workshops, conferences and a prison aftercare program.
In 2012, the organization relocated to Tuscaloosa after Harris and her husband decided to move.
“We moved here in 2012. We moved here from Texas,” Harris said. “We came here to see if we could be of service to this community.”
Harris leads the Empowering Choices Jail and Prison Ministry that operates with the Tuscaloosa County Jail. The program allows women to voluntarily meet with Harris and program volunteers after being released. The faith-based program focuses on re-entry and life management sessions to aid women transitioning back into the community.
“We are a faith-based organization, so we cover a faith-based perspective,” Harris said. “We talk to them about self-esteem, about anger management, about forgiveness – forgiving themselves, forgiving others and that their time in jail does not define them. We’ve graduated two sessions from the county jail, and our third class will start Aug. 7.”
Harris said the women must contact the organization once they are released to begin the program.
“When the ladies are released from county, state or federal jail, the first 65 days are the most important,” she said. “So they need some help transitioning back into the community. We started the mentoring and aftercare program to try and fill in that gap for them.”
As of spring 2013, the mentoring program is held Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the McDonald Hughes Center. Since its relocation, Empowering Choices Jail and Prison Ministry has served around 15 women.
“It’s a matter of public safety actually that benefits Tuscaloosa,” Harris said. “When I talk to people, I always tell them, you are doing a thing for public safety. These women – it’s not like they don’t know how to make money – they know how to make money. If we don’t help them learn how to be on the right side of the law and show them how it will benefit them to be upstanding citizens, when they revert back to bad behavior, your house looks just as good as any other house to break into.”
Not only does the prison ministry benefit the Tuscaloosa community, but it also benefits the women through counseling and mentoring, Harris said.
“As far as it benefits the ladies, it shows them that they can be more than what they used to be, that there is always another chance to work and be consistent with it,” she said. “There are people out here that don’t want anything from them. They just want the best for them.”
Tiffany Richardson, a volunteer for Empowering Choices Jail and Prison Ministry, said one of the most rewarding aspects of this program is simply helping the women and community.
“It benefits the Tuscaloosa community because the ladies get tools to use once they get home and skills such as how to apply for a job, how to dress for a job and ways to survived the day to day lifestyle and pressures,” she said.
Richardson, who was introduced to Harris through a mutual friend, has been volunteering for the past six months. She said the ages of women in the program range from late teens to 60s and older.
While the ministry has been established in Tuscaloosa for over a year, Richardson said many in the community do not know much about it, and the organization is hoping to spread the word.
“Not a lot of people know about [the prison ministry], and we want to get the word out about it,” Richardson said. “Roxanne goes above and beyond with the day-to-day things they need – whether it’s taking them to get food or get clothes.”
Harris said the 501c3 organization accepts volunteers and donations. Currently, the group is accepting donations for welcome home hygiene bags.
“We are asking people to donate deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and we put them in a bag for the ladies when they come out,” Harris said. “So that is one less area for them to seek help as far asking their relatives for money. They have a full-sized hygiene kit they will need for the first month or so.”
Additionally, Harris said while the prison ministry doesn’t have a need for volunteers at present, they hope to have plenty of volunteer opportunities in the future for college students and the community. For more information, visit woman2womanempowerment.org.
