Talking Circle in Prison

Wed Nov 9 14:32:42 PST 2005

Hi, all -

I just wanted to share that last week I was working inside two women's
prisons in Central California.

One of the things I was doing was training inmates who are peer health
educators - on a new curriculum I developed that teaches other inmates
who are about to be released about HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, sexually
transmitted diseases, how substance use affects disease transmission and
progression, self-esteem, and communication in relationships.

The other thing I did was the reason I was thinking of you all - I also
attend the annual prison health fair at several prisons, where I set up
a circle of chairs so people can just talk and converse and ask
questions about absolutely anything that is important to them.  Because
that is health, too.

So this last time I had the pleasure of hosting an all-day talking
circle.  Or maybe I should call it a listening circle?

It's the closest thing to Open Space I can get - in prison you cannot do
anything that an onlooker (say a guard looking down from a tower or
across a prison yard) might interpret as chaos.  Therefore, so far I
cannot set up a delightful-chaos-of-Open Space situation. But I can do
one circle, that lasts for a day, that goes wherever anyone wants it to
go.

As this was during the health fair (imagine a big gymnasium - along the
walls are tables with community agency representatives offering
brochures and information - Planned Parenthood, transitional houses,
family support agencies); and in the center, a circle of chairs.  With a
sign that says "Join the conversation".  In other prisons I have done
this outside on the exercise yard.  

Yes, it's a health fair.  And yes, I am there to answer any questions
anyone has about health issues.  I am also a health educator so I can
share general health education about a cross-section of concerns.

But it's mostly about listening.  And inviting others to share their
thoughts.  And about affirmation, and about belief, and about support
for people to take good care of themselves and each other.  To treasure
themselves.  It's really a participant-led conversation, with me doing
some deep listening and holding space for participants in the circle to
share, support each other, listen, and just be in a safe space.  

Here are some of the topics that came up. The participants shifted and
changed throughout the day.  There had been some sort of fight the day
before, so the institution was on a modified 'lock down' (lock down is
when you must stay in your cell with the door locked and cannot leave
for days - usually inmates can leave to go to their meals and prison
jobs, as long as they have 'ducats' - papers that give them permission
to move about the prison for a specific reason or appointment).  So on
this day, only one 'yard' at a time (one section of the prison) was
allowed to come to the health fair, so the overall population did not
mix.  So we sort of had 3 sessions (though the law of 2 feet and
butterflies and bumblebees were definitely in effect throughout the
duration).

Topics included:

*       Methamphetamines (serious drugs - this topic came up several
times during the Talking Circle, as some are in prison because of it and
some have seen their loved ones affected by it)

*       Fibroids (non-cancerous tumors in the uterus)

*       Cysts in breasts (they feel like lumps)

*       Inner peace (how to achieve peace amidst the chaos and
constriction of being in prison - these are women who are housed 8 or 9
in a cell that was originally designed for 2 people)

*       Access to proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment (inside
prison, doctors are often unable to access and prescribe certain
medications, and may not have access to diverse tests and laboratory
analysis; there may also be some communication issues with some inmates
feeling listened to or not by some clinicians)

*       Drug use and self-esteem (how when you use drugs it erases your
outline, in a way - the boundary between your self and the world /
others, so that you may not care for or protect yourself during those
times; but you may use drugs because you need to erase bad feelings or
because you do not love yourself)

*       Relationships (speaking up for your needs, getting away from
abuse, finding another someone who treats you as a treasure)

*       The oppression (my word) of the system (the experience of being
in prison)

*       Menopause and hysterectomies

*       Meditation (how to start, how to practice, in a place where
there is no quiet time or private space)

Most of these women come from communities, families and lives where
nobody ever told them anything about health, and they may not access
healthcare due to lack of resources or mobility.  They mostly come from
lower income communities. Then they come into prison and sometimes they
stay for decades, so health issues around aging and depression are added
to their worries.  There are also myths about health being shared as
truths, because in most institutions there is no education regarding
health.  

I thought you might like a little look into this rich setting for
dialogue, conversation and holding space,

Lisa 

___________________________
L i s a   H e f t
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
O p e n i n g  S p a c e
2325 Oregon
Berkeley, California
94705-1106   USA
+01 510 548-8449
 <mailto:lisaheft at openingspace.net> lisaheft at openingspace.net
 <http://www.openingspace.net> www.openingspace.net 

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