IWA NONPROFIT

Services

We organize a monthly volunteer effort to a woman’s prison facility where we will visit them on the third week of every month on their visitation day. It is a social service cause to provide emotional support for incarcerated women. We will not be providing any legal assistance, only emotional morale boosting mentor-ship, with possibility of offering educational advice.

As volunteers, we can be the emotional support they need with just 4 hours every other month. “Of course, although family ties may constitute as important, if not the most important source of support to inmates, just as clearly, other types of ties, including those with friends, may serve as a critical aid in the transition to society.” -Hairsto, C.F. (1990). Family ties during imprisonment: Do they influence future criminal activity? Federal Probation. 52. 48-52. 
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We are currently located in San Antonio, however we plan to expand to Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.

Future Services

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Advocacy.

Women’s prisons didn’t even exist 140 years ago. Between 1980 and 2006, the population of women in prison jumped 800 percent. Minorities, who comprise two–thirds of all incarcerated women. Many women behind bars were primary caregivers for their children. When they are locked up, they are left with few options. The lucky kids can be placed with relatives, but more often, they are sent to foster care. Also, prisons are unprepared to attend to the unique health problems women face. Routine gynecological care and mammograms are often unavailable, so women behind bars frequently succumb to diseases like cervical cancer, which can be successfully treated in its earliest stages if detected by Pap smear.