Strength In Service

All of the women at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility have jobs. Some women are caregivers for the sick and/or terminally ill in the prison infirmary. Strength in Service is a soulful, holistic program focused on the needs of caregivers who are impacted by multiple stressors and personal grief. The program has a spiritual (meaning, values, relationships) base that is welcoming of and inclusive of all religious traditions.

We follow a companioning support group model that trusts the healer within each individual and is focused on “walking beside,” learning from each other, being present to the pain of others, respecting temporary confusion and disorientation, bearing witness to struggle, and committed to the discovery of interior wisdom.

Support groups are proven ways to encourage participants to reconcile ongoing losses and find continued meaning in life and in personal service to others.  The ultimate purpose of Strength in Service is social, emotional, and spiritual growth and the healing that comes with and through grief and caregiving.

A six-Week Process

During the 6 weeks, participants explore several topics:

  • What’s happening to me?  The ability to self-evaluate present emotional health, and to recognize emotions and the personal needs underlying emotions.

  • Finding Meaning in Caregiving—more than a job and more than providing for someone else, caregiving can become a means to personal growth and healing.

  • How to recognize and avoid burnout.

  • Survival strategies for healthy caregiving and the development of a personal self-care toolbox.

  • Listening skills and compassionate communication for understanding the care-receivers world.

  • Skills for coping with difficult and trying behavior and attitudes.

WHAT HAPPENS EACH 90-MINUTE SESSION?

The group begins their session with a brief check-in, followed by a centering drumming circle. The topic of the week is addressed with a prompt question for sharing and informational handouts to support learning tools. The session ends with journaling time and an individual commitment to the homework of implementing a skill/tool from that week’s session.

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM FACILITATORS

There are two facilitators for each 6-week session.  At least one of the facilitators in a given session has previous experience with the program and volunteering within the Department of Corrections.  Volunteer facilitators:

  • Have skills and previous experience with small group facilitation

  • Will find that previous experience accompanying others in the grief process is helpful

  • Openness to a soul care approach to grief processing is required

  • Openness to learning new skills, to functioning as part of a team, to a two-year commitment, and to training is essential

  • Facilitators are asked to make a commitment to at least one six-week session in a calendar year.

TRAINING REQUIRED BY THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INCLUDES

  • 4-hour Basic Volunteer Training with the CDOC (Colorado Department of Corrections).

  • 2-hour Facility Orientation at the prison.

  • Yearly 2-hour Update Training with the CDOC and annual update of paperwork.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TRAINING REQUIRED BY RESTORING CONNECTIONS

  • 2-hour orientation with Restoring Connections.

  • Training in program curriculum and end-of-session program evaluation with Restoring Connections’ peer supervision group.

  • Weekly access to individual support and supervision during the six-week session if desired.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for this program, or would like to know more, please contact us.