Women in Transition
Women in Transition is a program of Stand in the Gap Ministries. It is a 14 week program for women leaving prison.
Rhonda Bear, Program Manager, says facilitators for the re-integration training program are ex-offenders who have succeeded. Women in Transition covers topics such as saying "No" and not feeling guilty, boundaries, coping strategies, and communication skills and incorporates role playing in the program. They help women develop their own reentry plans. In doing this facilitators ask each woman, "where do you see yourself being and how do you see yourself getting there?" Women in Transition is in 3 prisons and David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. Their goal is to support 300 women a year. Post release support services assist women in a number of different ways: finding housing, participating in a recovery program, and connecting with resources in the community to provide food, clothing, transportation, and job placement support. Also women can be connected to a Stand in the Gap Women in Transition support group called a spiritual family.
According to Bear 97% of people who leave prison without a support system return. She also says Oklahoma ranks number one in the nation for incarceration of women and 28,000 children in Oklahoma have an incarcerated parent. Women in Transition is interested in more volunteers for their post release support groups or spiritual families. Volunteers from the community in Women in Transition commit to 90 minutes every other week, frequent phone calls, and the development of a relationship with a woman and in some cases her children for at least 12 months. Those interested in volunteering with Women in Transition can contact the Stand in the Gap office at 918-585-6112 or Rhonda Bear at 918-625-4031.
Other than volunteering time in relational support, Women in Transition can be helped by donating clothes, jewelry, or shoes. In connection with His House Ministries Women in Transition is working to provide transitional living homes for those who have successfully completed the program. As a non-profit organization Stand in the Gap Ministries accepts monetary donations. Bear says another way to help is to be a prayer partner for Women in Transition, praying about a woman in the program from afar. "I think one of the greatest gifts that the women can have is people that are committed to pray for them and their children."
