Going to prison (for a good reason)...

So my biggest news is that I am going to be going to Taconic Women's Prison, but not because I have been naughty!  I was offered a fulltime job working as the Family Services Director for Hour Children, www.hourchildren.org.  As I have posted about this organization before, Hour Children does amazing things to help strengthen relationships with incarcerated women and their children.  Led by a Sr. of St. Joseph (yes, that's right another nun), Sr. Theresa Fitzergerald, Hour Children provides services for women and children from the moment they are arrested throughout their entire lives.  The amazing things is her programs are working.  She is one of the only programs proven to cut the recidivism rate for women and the help women create long lasting relationships with their children.  She not only provides services inside the prison, but follows the women as they get out to provide housing and employment assistance.

The focus of the organization is simple- lots of love and compassion.  My role is going to be overseeing all the operations and programs of Hour Children at the women's prison.  They have a nursery, where women spend up to a year with their infants, and many other children's services including story book recording sessions, birthday celebration and probono lawyer advocacy.  They also have many programs for the women including parenting and other skills that help them through the rehabilitation process.  One of the things I am very excited about is inviting the community to get involved.  There are many volunteer opportunities.  I would like to invite you all to be a part of them!

Happy Monday :)

26.2

When you are a marathon runner, every minute throughout the race is an accomplishment that you have worked for many, many months to achieve.  During the race, you feel the runners high, coupled with joint paint and overall exhaustion to the point where you really want to quit.  However, the moment you cross the finish line, you believe all was worth it in the end.

This post is dedicated to someone near and dear to me who I'm sure is experiencing all of these emotions as we speak.  Major kudos to my sister Kelly who is running the Austin marathon today.  This is her second marathon. Kelly, hats off to you, may you enjoy ever step of this race especially the last one across the finish line.  Love you!!!

P.S.- Also, if you haven't gotten a chance to listen to last week's Scales of Justice, it is on archives http://www.blogtalkradio.com/scalesofjustice

Listen and Be Entertained..Tonight's Show is "Off The Hook"

Hey Everyone,

Tonight is my night to cohost Scales of Justice!  Tune in tonight at 6 pm PST (9 pm EST) where we welcome the Poetic Justice Organization, which is committed to offering arts programs to men and women inside and outside of prison.  We will also be chatting about their new hit musical "Off The Hook", which is touring up and down the coast of California.  This show is going to be power packed with stories, information and original music from the show.  Don't miss it.  To listen, go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/scalesofjustice.  

Deborah Tobola’s bio

Deborah Tobola, founding Artistic Director of the Poetic Justice Project, worked for more than 12 years teaching poetry and collaborative playwriting, as well as managing an Arts in Corrections program in California prisons. Her students won writing awards, published their work in journals and magazines and appeared on local television and national radio. Author ofOff The Hook, Deborah produced six original plays at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo before leaving to begin the Poetic Justice Project. A widely published poet and children’s book author, her work has earned four Pushcart Prize nominations and three Academy of American Poets awards.

Guillermo Willie’s bio:

I spent over half of my life in prison and have been “out here” for about two years now. I find the world to be a very beautiful place and have learned to not take even the seemingly simple things for granted. I learned that in prison. Prison was a very eye-opening experience for me and I actually began to become free while in there. I became involved with various aspects of prison life, some that were very positive and some that were very negative. Fortunately, I learned from all of it and  now find myself “out here,” still doing my darndest to be the best human being that I might possibly be. Being a good human being is an art. It is art.  And I want to be the best possible artist that I can be . . .

Bull Chaney’s bio:

For 25 years, Bull Chaney was either incarcerated or on parole. It was in prison that he had a vision of how to help people like himself, convicts addicted to drugs. He left prison in 1996 with a vision that became the Gryphon Society, the nonprofit that Bull operates with his wife, Marie and partners Becky Brown and Jimmy Desatoff. They opened their first sober living home in 2000 and now Gryphon Society has nine sober living homes on California’s Central Coast. Based on 12-step recovery and community service, Gryphon Society helps men and women coming out of jail or prison, reintegrate into their communities. Bull Chaney plays Running Bull in Off The Hook and serves on Poetic Justice Project’s Advisory Board, as well as the San Luis Obispo County Homeless Coalition. In 2009, he was appointed by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to the Homeless Services Oversight Council.

Jorge Manly Gil’s bio

Jorge Manly Gil has 20 years of experience in the social service field, for both non-profit agencies and not-for-profit communities and organizations such as Catholic Worker, the San Diego American Indian Health Center; Bienestar of San Diego; Catholic Charities of San Diego; St. Camilus Pastoral Center of Los Angeles; Union of Pan-Asian Communities of San Diego, and University of California San Diego-HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center.  He has worked as a case manager, health educator and community outreach worker.  He’s also served as a chaplain at L.A. County Hospital and co-founded two Catholic Worker communities, one in San Diego and another one in Jalisco, Mexico. Jorge Manly Gil studied for three years at UC Irvine and received theological formation at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker Community, complementing that with graduate studies in pastoral care at Mt. St. Mary’s College in L.A. He received a teaching credential from the University of Guadalajara. He’s bicultural and bilingual in Spanish/English. Jorge Manly Gil plays Sparrow Hawk in Off The Hookand serves on Poetic Justice Project’s Advisory Board.

The following are links that will tell you all about the show, the cast and the reviews… Enjoy!

Here is the link for their documentary:

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2291112729/

Also, background on Poetic Justice Project can be found here:

http://www.cac.ca.gov/artworks/poeticjustice.php

And this page from our website has audience responses to Off The Hook:

http://poeticjusticeproject.org/audience-response

This link has photos from the wonderful photographer Barry Wisdom, who took these during rehearsal in Sacramento:

http://picasaweb.google.com/115140365945670453492/OffTheHookPoeticJusticeProject2010PrisonTownTour#

Feelin' a Lil' Hamsterlike...

I remember last year I called my sister to ask her to join me running the L.A. Marathon, which is in March.   Although she appreciated the offer, she quickly declined telling me that it isn't fun to train during the winter (even though this year she is now finishing her training for the Austin marathon in 2 weeks ;p).  I thought at first that this sounded like a well-crafted excuse, but now I am understanding exactly what she is saying.  Winter training is no fun especially this winter when it seems we get a large storm every week!  However, keep your eye on the prize my friends and heed in my advice to make it more doable.

1.  Join a gym.  I know this can be a little hefty on the pocket book and also sweating next to a perfect stranger is not ideal, but don't be a martyr.  Although you may think that you can do all of your training outside, your joints and you body definitely disagree- TRUST ME!
2.  Switch it up.  Straight running on a treadmill can be monotonous and incredibly boring.  Do some cross training.  Take advantage of trying a spin class, which is a great substitute for a speed work out; a strength and core workout, which will not only strengthen your body but will help with stabilization so you won't lose balance in your next race; or the stair machine, which could double as a hill workout.
3.  Play lots of mind games.  This helps no matter where or when you are training.  When I am running for a very long distance, I just break it up one mile at a time.  I don't worry about the total until I am done.  Thinking about the whole is scarier than any of the parts.  For example when I run 5 miles, it takes a little less than 50 min (48.12 this weekend to be exact ;).  I think of it as running 10 minute intervals, 5 times.  It is exactly the same but for some reason, it seems so much more manageable when I think of it this way.
4.  Work out with a friend. Not only is this great for accountability, the gift of gab makes the time go by very fast and it intensifies your cardio workout.  I miss Leanne (my runner partner) for this!  If you are better solo, load up the musical device of your choice with music that is energizing to you.

Happy Running!!