Helping female offenders start fresh

Aug. 7--As she was serving out a 20-year sentence, Sheryl Abel had a vision for her life after prison.

"I wanted to do something different," Abel said. "I wanted to be an inspiration and do what I could do to help with the re-entry process."

On Sunday, more than 100 people attended a "Back to School" picnic sponsored by Helping Ourselves Prisoners and Ex-Offenders, a group Abel, 47, of Maywood established in 2002 to assist women recently released from prison in their transition back into society. About 70 of the attendees at Memorial Park in Hillside were women who had been incarcerated, Abel said.

Of the nearly 45,000 people serving time in Illinois correctional facilities in 2005, about 2,800 of them were women, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. The United States leads the world in the number of prisoners, at 2.2 million, followed by China, which has 1.5 million, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies based at Kings College in London.

Abel's group provides a venue for former prisoners in the Chicago area and their family members to share their experiences without worrying about the stigma of being an ex-convict. H.O.P.E. also offers a Christmas gift drive, Thanksgiving dinner and Easter egg hunt.

In the last three years, attendance at the annual picnic has grown from a handful of Abel's friends to hundreds of people, volunteers said.

For women who were recently released from prison, the H.O.P.E. picnics provide an opportunity to speak to women who have successfully returned to the working world, said Abel's mother, Shirley.

"[The issue of having a child in prison] was all hidden under the carpet," she said. At H.O.P.E., the women "speak and let people know you don't have to stay there. You can come back."

Member Juanita Knowles credits the group with helping her stay out of prison. Incarcerated eight times, Knowles, 52, dealt drugs and picked pockets as a member of the Vice Lords street gang. She missed her only son's funeral in 2000 because she was in prison. That was when she decided to clean up her life so she could be there for her grandson Anthony Jr., now 14.

As a trained substance-abuse counselor, Knowles shares her story as an example to others looking to break the cycle of drug abuse and prison, she said.

"If women could see me and see where I am now, they could see that change is possible," Knowles said.

H.O.P.E. has had a positive impact by showing younger women the pitfalls of the criminal lifestyle, said Janice Mitchell-Bolling, a retired counselor for the Illinois Department of Corrections and manager for the anti-violence CeaseFire program in Maywood and Bellwood.

"They think the criminal's life is glamorous," Mitchell-Bolling said. "When they see women who were part of that culture and they see there are opportunities for change and there are positive outcomes, they hear it."

On Sunday, Abel's group received a $25,000 state grant, presented by state Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood). It is the first major donation the group has received. Most of the funds raised for the H.O.P.E. picnic and other events are donated from family members, Abel said.

She chose the butterfly on the group's logo to symbolize its message. For Abel, it seems her message has already reached one important person, her 18-year-old son Ryan.

"I forgive my mother for the mistakes she's made," he said. "I try to tell her, 'You don't have to worry about me because I've seen the mistakes you made.' I plan to go to college and make my own business. Wasting time, going to prison, I can't accomplish my goals."

jfrancisco@tribune.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune

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