Right/Write to Heal: Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women in Their Own Voices is a joint project of the Columbia Center for Justice and V-Day's Beyond Incarceration Project.

Through Right/Write to Heal, women share how they cope with the consequences of incarceration on themselves, their families and communities, with the goal of changing how people understand the impact of criminalization on women. Writing and storytelling are therapeutic interventions for people who have experienced loss and trauma, and can lead to healing, redemption, and intimacy when shared collectively and with others who have been impacted. The goal is to humanize the unique individual and collective experiences of women, particularly women of color, who from early in their lives face racism, violence, and structural barriers that lead to punishment and imprisonment.

Writing is a powerful tool for self-expression and healing. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women develop their writing skills and share their stories.

Your support will provide our participants with composition books, journals, T-shirts, and pens, as well as enable us to help with necessities needed when coming home. Our work will also offer opportunities for women to share their stories with a broader audience by publishing our work.

We are:

- Building community: our groups provide community and support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women by creating a safe space for women to share and connect with others with similar experiences.

- Providing reentry support: our groups provide support as women navigate the challenges of reentry; by participating in a writing group, women can develop skills to help build a positive identity inside and outside of prison. It will provide access to resources and support to heal, build community, and support women to overcome the stigma and shame of having a criminal background during and after incarceration.

A donation to The Right/Write to heal is an investment in women and community to end mass incarceration.

"We believe the time is overdue for women impacted by the justice system to tell their own stories, in their own voices, about how they experienced incarceration and what it has done to their lives on the inside and after being released, acknowledging the harm we have done and the trauma we experienced on our journeys to healing." - Right/Write to Heal Initiative