Planet Photo Survivor Portrait Experience

The human spirit has an amazing capacity to overcome adversity. Celebrating the everyday survivors that live amongst us.

Describe your situation…

In 2009, I was a partner in a Title Company that employed my entire family (father, mother, brothers, niece, husband, best friend, aunt, etc…). During the mortgage implode in 2009 the company was failing, desperate to make payroll I took a mortgage out on my house misappropriated the funds to sustain the business and make payroll. My partner’s law firm was being investigated on other matters not having to do with our business and he gave up several individuals, including me as part of a deal. I soon found myself incarcerated for 7 months due to wire fraud.

I self-destructed from my need to prove myself, be a care giver, never say no, fix everything, being a perfectionist and thinking I could not fail. I thought my worth was what I gave to people and failure was not an option to me. I immediately took responsibility and accountability. I plead guilty in 2011 to wire fraud and in 2014 I was sentenced to one year and a day at Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women. I self-surrendered on Jan. 5, 2015, to a world that was unlike the world we live in on the outside.

Prison has its own culture, and you need to learn that culture very quickly to survive. I came home July 22, 2015, transitioning to home confinement for 3 months and then transitioning to a 3 year term of probation with a massive restitution and a lifetime punishment having a felony on my record, along with derp prison trauma.

What have been your greatest challenges in life?…

To say no to people.

Did you ever feel alone in your journey?…

Yes, through the entire journey.

What helped you most?…

Family support from my husband and children was the most helpful and also from the other women who were alongside me in prison who took care of each other.

What are your most proud of?…

I am most proud of my children and husband who stood beside me, never leaving and supporting me. I am also proud that I took accountability teaching my children that making poor choices has consequences and to make poor choices is part of being human but it is how you handle those choices afterward is what defines you. I believe one must take full responsibility for their part in the choices. I also came home and made a choice to be transparent about my situation. Prison is a dark place, and I did not want one other women to have to feel alone or isolated while going through the criminal legal system. I founded Evolution Reentry Services, helping justice impacted women go through their own journey. We prepare women and their families with support groups and help preparing them for the unknown prison culture. We attend their sentencings and also drive them to prison supporting them the entire way through. When They come home there is a huge array of mental health issues that women must face so we help them navigate their new life with dignity and success through authenticity. My proudest program is our Thursday night support group for families who have loved ones incarcerated. These families are silent victims, especially the kids and when I first started the group, I was able to see firsthand what I did to my family through the hurt of these families. I am proud to be able to give them support because they are such collateral damage to a broken criminal legal system.

What brings you joy?…

Freedom

After being in prison and given the opportunity to start my life over, I have experienced true freedom. Simple things bring me joy. Just sitting with my husband watching a movie and eating popcorn or visiting and communicating with my children who are now young adults on their own. I also care for my elderly parents who have been married for 65 years.

Knowing that I don’t have to always say yes or fix things and being blessed with family and true friends, I am truly free.