women at risk
by andie leatherman brymer

Homeless and desperate, "Susan" gave her three children to family members. She had tried to purchase a mobile home for the four of them but that fell through. Overcome with emotion, the young woman drank herself into a stupor, got in her car and headed for nearby railroad tracks.

“One night I just didn’t want to live,” she said. “That was the most desperate point in my life.”

On her way to what she thought was the end of her life, a police officer stopped and arrested Susan. She faced a driving while impaired charge but she was alive.
“Getting pulled over saved my life,” Susan said.

Now an Asheville based program is helping her put her life back together. Susan is participating in Women at Risk which is part of Western Carolinians for Criminal Justice.

“They don’t judge you here. They’re here to help you,” she said. “They are really nice.”

The people who Susan talks so enthusiastically about are the staff of Women at Risk. They provide education, mental health and substance abuse evaluation, anger management, psychiatric consultation, case management and court advocacy.

Susan is participating in the both a psychotherapy/education group and a substance abuse program. She has learned about meditation, safe sex and where to get health care. Through the program, she will soon see a psychiatrist to determine if she needs to stay on Zoloft. She and her son are now living with her father. A case manager is helping her find permanent housing so she can also be reunited with her two daughters.

Susan still faces the consequences of driving while impaired, however, she plans to ask for privileged license so she can drive to work. Her participation in Women at Risk may mean that request is granted.

One of the first people Susan met at Women at Risk was Patti Horton, a court advocate. Horton’s role often takes her to court and jail seeking clients. While some women may want to serve a short sentence and be finished with the court system, many others, especially those with children, are hoping to avoid time behind bars.

Horton also speaks up for existing clients in court. She says judges are eager to hear about the progress the women are making. “They are very open. They will call us and ask for assessments.”

Horton also serves as a substance abuse counselor. “The women learn how to face what they’ve done, to forgive themselves and ask for forgiveness from others,” she said. Before serious emotional work can be done, most people have to begin meeting their basic needs—food, shelter and medical care. Here is where case manager Michele Perry steps in. One of the first questions a participant will hear from Perry is “do you have somewhere safe to stay tonight” and “do you have enough food?” The answer is “no” a fair amount of the time.

Often meeting basic needs begins with a phone call. Because this can be intimidating for some women, Perry will start by rehearsing the call with the woman. “We try to move people in small steps,” she said.Perry also helps women access community based services appropriate to the individual woman like vocational rehabilitation, food stamps and SSI.

A common thread binds between 75 and 80 percent of the women served. They were victimized at some point in their lives, according to Ellen Clarke, director of Western North Carolinians for Criminal Justice which Women at Risk is part of.

Problems managing anger often stem from that victim role. The program’s 12-week Deciding Against Violence component can often help stop violence from becoming a cycle within the women’s families. Sometimes, women wrongly believe that physical violence against their children is not really violence, Clarke said. “They run the risk of repeating that in their families.”

Depression is another common problem among participants. Some individual counseling is offered and women are shown how to access any needed long term mental health support.

Women at Risk also offers substance abuse groups, education and relapse prevention. Because Safe and Sound, a women’s Alcoholics Anonymous group, meets at the agency’s Patton Street building, many of the former clients maintain contact with the center by attending meetings after graduating from the program.
“We try to treat the whole woman,” Clarke said.

Clinical social worker Patrice Wishon provides assessments, does some individual therapy and facilitates therapy groups. She watches the women form supportive bonds. Wishon also encourages introspection.

“Maybe they’ll examine behaviors and think about making some changes,” she said.

It’s by treating these underlying problems that women can permanently stay out of the court system.

“We find that the criminal problem is the tip of the iceberg,” she said. Clarke first became involved with the courts in the 1970s when she helped start Asheville-Buncombe Cooperative Christian Ministry’s jail and prison program. While she realized that some individuals are too dangerous for society, Clarke’s work with the ministry taught her not all inmates were dangerous.

“Going into the jail everyday really educated me. More and more I began to believe there could be a better way,” she said. “They needed assistance to make changes for the good.”

In the early1980s, Clarke was asked to serve on a citizens Blue Ribbon Committee on Alternatives to Incarceration. Clarke and others on that committee went on form Western Carolinians for Criminal Justice. From there Sentencing Services and Women at Risk were born.

During the 2001-2002 fiscal year, 126 clients either completed the program or were progressing on schedule.

The program receives 65 percent of its funding from the General Assembly. Clarke credits the local legislative delegation for the continued funding. Other funds comes from foundations, the county, churches, the Department of Social Services, United Way, and client fees.

Brenda Carleton is the executive director. Carleton along with Wishon, Horton and Perry are either certified substance abuse counselors or are in the process of becoming certified. All share the responsibility for educational groups.

Women at Risk is now attempting to raise $250,000 toward purchasing the Patton Street home where it is now located, all the while, continuing to serve women like Paula.

The 40-year-old woman was referred to the program by a social worker after she was charged with driving while impaired. Paula says the grief over her daughter’s death led her to drink. Now she is getting help with that and with housing problems.

“At first I felt so hopeless. I always did it on my own. Being able to talk with them made it easier,” she said.

Part of the reason talking to the staff may have helped so much is their attitude toward the women they serve.

“The staff takes the attitude that it could have been me,” Perry said. “We think they are fascinating people.”

Andie Leatherman Brymer is a staff writer at the Kings Mountain Herald. Joseph Brymer is a freelance photojournalist and nature photographer.