Interview with Sheryl Abel

In this interview Sheryl talks about experience in prison and how she walk out the prison and is walking back in without handcuffs and shackles helping the women she left behind. And how she became the CEO of H.O.P.E. Inc. Keywords: Motherhood, Prison Life, Reentry

Interview with Annette

In this interview, Annette explains how she came to work in the sex industry and the impact it has had on her and her family. Annette describes how her drug use led to her involvement in the sex industry and shares some of the dangerous, violent encounters that ensued. After being incarcerated on drug and prostitution charges, Annette reflected on her lifestyle and decided to make a change in her life. Now, she works for the Department of Human Services and is active with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Keywords: Prostitution, Substance Abuse.

Interview with Joanne Archibald

In this interview, Joanne Archibald discusses the impact of her federal prison sentence on her life, her relationship with her son, and her ability to move on with her life afterwards. Keywords: Motherhood, Prison Life, Reentry.

Interview with Hilda Berghammer

In the course of being interviewed by Carolyn Watson and Salome Chasnoff, Hilda Berghammer discusses her life beginning with her immigration to the U.S. at age 9. She was involved in a series of abusive relationships, before being arrested on charges related to driving under the influence. She details her experiences inside Cook County Jail and Illinois state prisons, describing the intake process and the physical space of the prison. She also talks about her experiences in prostitution, and discusses her relationship with her son. Keywords: Prostitution, Domestic Violence , Prison Life , Motherhood, Substance Abuse.

Interview with Diana Delgado

In this interview conducted by Joanne Archibald and Salome Chasnoff, Diana Delgado tells the story of her life beginning with the loss of her mother at age 12. She discusses her own experiences of mothering, which included losing her first child to SIDS, giving birth while shackled to a bed, and being separated from her children while serving an 8-year sentence. Keywords: Motherhood, Prison Life.

Interview with Naoma Dye

In this interview conducted by Carolyn Watson and Salome Chasnoff, Naoma Dye discusses her life starting with childhood, through her involvement in the drug and sex trade, and continuing on through her incarceration and eventual release. Keywords: Family, Prison Life, Reentry, Substance Abuse.

Interview with Joann Franklin

In this interview with Carolyn Watson, Joann Franklin discusses her life, including drug use and relationship violence, before the arrest that led her to prison. She discusses relationships in prison, including her impression of widespread lesbian relationships in the prison and her own relationships with men housed in the same co-ed prison. She also describes the prison ministry that she started with her husband upon her release. Keywords: Domestic Violence, Relationships, Program Description.

Interview with Donna Henry

In this interview with Carolyn Watson, Donna Henry gives a detailed account of being raped at age 15, starting heroin at age 23, and entering Dwight Correctional Facility. She talks about losing her children to DCFS and the steps that she is taking to have them returned. She also describes her experiences in a drug treatment program within the prison, including a typical day and the worst day. Keywords: Sexual Violence , Motherhood, Prison Life , Substance Abuse.

Interview with Iyrania Hill

In this interview with Carolyn Watson and Salome Chasnoff, Iyrania Hill describes her time serving a twenty-year sentence beginning at age 18. She discusses her life in prison, including five years spent at a medium-security co-ed prison and the ways people maintained romantic relationships behind the walls. Keywords: Prison Life, Labor, Relationships.

Interview with Lucretia Clay

Lucretia's involvement in the sex industry began at the age of 12 when her mother sold her to a pimp. A mother of three, Lucretia has been incarcerated, has battled drug addiction, and is H.I.V. positive, but she is currently trying to go back to school to become a drug counselor and is working to develop new relationships with her children. Keywords: Motherhood,Prostitution, Reentry.

Interview with Yolanda Mills

In this interview, Yolanda Mills discusses her childhood growing up without parents, her involvement in prostitution and substance abuse, and the death of her son. She also discusses her history of sexual abuse in her family and foster care. Keywords: Housing and Homelessness, Sexual Violence, Substance Abuse.

Interview with Brenda Myers

In this interview, Brenda explains how being sexually abused as a child contributed to her involvement in the sex industry as she got older. Beginning as a dancer in clubs, she eventually ended up working on the street where she was more vulnerable to abuse by her customers. After one particularly traumatic experience, Brenda decided to leave prostitution and currently works as an H.I.V. prevention specialist. From her 25 years as a sex worker and her current involvement in the Prostitution Awareness Round Table, Brenda offers remarkable insight into the various forms of prostitution in the city of Chicago. Keywords: Activism, Prostitution, Sexual Violence.

Interview with Rose

Rose discusses serving her 10-year sentence for planning to kill her abusive husband. Her interview included a discussion of her relationship to her children, her views on same-sex relationships in prison, her work at the beauty salon, and the racism that she witnessed the guards display against women of color. Keywords: Domestic Violence, Motherhood .

Interview with Pamela Thomas

In this interview, Pamela Thomas discusses her life, beginning with her life on the street as a teenager and her abusive relationship with an older man. She discusses her children, her relationship to her parents, and her path into drug addiction. She also describes her path out of prison, including a later parole violation that arose after she called the police for her personal safety, and her current work in the social services. Keywords: Substance Abuse, Reentry, Motherhood.