DES MOINES, Iowa — The Beacon, situated in the Sherman Hill neighborhood in Des Moines, is an agency that primarily works to help women transition from prison into their normal life.
"They participate in mental health counseling, recovery support groups and social events," said executive director Melissa Vine. "They meet with a financial literacy coach, career development programs, we have health education classes, and parenting classes and cooking classes and all kinds of holistic ways of supporting these women, to help them put their lives back together after just such a long train of trauma."
Vine says many times what has led up to a woman's arrest is complex and filled with trauma.
"That's where you see higher rates of substance use," Vine said. "A lot of times, women are convicted of crimes that they were coerced into doing by an abusive partner. And it's like, well, I either sell these drugs, or I'm going to get beat up."
But Vine and The Beacon are working on a new program aimed at keeping women out of prison altogether. A mobile case manager would be stationed at the jail, meeting women as they are arrested to see if the organization's programming would be a good fit for them.
"So then instead of sitting in jail for three to six months before they even been convicted of a crime, losing their house, their job, their kids their support, they can stay in the community."
By the time their court date arrives, attorneys can show the judge the hard work the woman has put in, and hopefully push for probation instead of jail time.
"Had that program been invented when I was going through it all ...Yeah, I could have gotten 20 years of my life back," said Beacon graduate and house manager, Marlena Arnold. "I wouldn't have walked away from my children, I wouldn't have been incarcerated. I was using alcohol, my whole life to run away from things and the beacon just gave me a safe place that where I could be selfish with my recovery."
Arnold is a firm believer in the potential this new program has.
"And maybe intercept at a younger age," she said. "I didn't get it until I was 43 years old. You know, imagine if I had gotten it at 20 years old, you know, where my life would be."
"Jail is $106 a night per person, and The Beacon is $26 a night per person," said Vine. "So for a fourth of the cost, I can provide all of those supportive services and reduce the amount of trauma that's happening to our families on a generational level. Once a child has a parent who's incarcerated, they have a 70% chance of being incarcerated themselves."
If you are interested in volunteering at The Beacon or learning more about programming, click here.