In an increasingly unstable world,
hope is still the most important thing.
This month, we are sharing some of our “hope highlights” from the last 4 weeks.
May these short stories bring you hope.
First of Many
Alicia and Sarah are the first graduates of our Women in Transition course with ReMerge! This relatively new partnership gave us an opportunity to teach the Women in Transition course while prisons and jails were still closed to outside volunteers and introduced us to a new group of women who can use the Women in Transition class material to overcome obstacles and change the ending for themselves and their families.
They are pictured here with our OKC Program Manager, Kathy Peacock.
Let's DO This
In the thick of COVID, our Life Launch partner agencies reported less contact with the young adults we serve. So there were fewer opportunities to form small groups of mentors around these at-risk young people. But as case numbers decline, these young adults are coming back and EVERY ONE of our Tulsa area Life Launch partners has reached out requesting Life Launch small groups for someone they serve. Our partners’ trust in us is gratifying and we are ready to get to work recruiting and training volunteers to form Life Launch teams! That’s where YOU come in! Click to learn more about becoming a Life Launch volunteer. (Pictured is Phoenix Rising, one of our awesome Tulsa area partners.)
Caring from Colorado
We work with careportal.org to connect the people we serve with people who can help meet specific needs. When we posted about a young man who we wanted to match with a Life Launch team, a family in Colorado reached out. Because of the distance, they couldn’t volunteer for his team, but they fully funded the financial costs associated with forming a Life Launch team around him! And, when they learned that he’s a poet, they offered to use their skills as web designers to create a website for him to share his writing. Stay tuned for a link to his new site!
Partners + Facilitators = Changed Lives
Michelle is joining Kathy Peacock at Jordan's Crossing to teach the Women in Transition course. She's also preparing to help facilitate the class at Oklahoma County Jail. These partnerships allow us to reach women with the life-changing material in our Women in Transition course. Recruiting more volunteers to help us facilitate the course means even more women will have access!
Speaking of Access...
Here's one thing we learned because of COVID: just HOW MUCH Women in Transition course participants appreciate the class. We heard from many women who missed the class, and many more who wanted access to the materials so they could study themselves while prisons were still locked down. We also heard from potential partner facilities who wanted access to our course. Our limiting factor has always been the physical distance of the various places we offer the class and the travel time required for our course facilitators. In effort to ensure future far-flung partners get the same quality class that our local ladies receive, we have begun filming our fabulous Women in Transition course instructors teaching the course. This tool will mean we have the opportunity to not only offer Women in Transition when our local facilities are locked down, but also make it available beyond Oklahoma state lines.
Beauty from Ashes
We first met Lori several years ago, shortly after her husband passed away. She was a new widow, grieving her loss while supporting her young children through their own grief. Fast forward to today, Lori is the founder of Beauty from Ashes, one of our partner organizations in Texas. She recently launched her new website which offers programs, coaching, and support for widows. Congratulations to Lori and to the countless widows who will benefit from her passion and experiences.
