Welcome back.
We are back with more stories and moments from inside facility.
This month we began in Missouri with a full room of women and a wonderful caseworker that doesn’t miss a BEAT!
It’s always a blessing to meet people that love what they do, it’s palpable. It matters a great deal to the success of our programming and to the women inside that they care for- it can be felt immediately.
Whoever you are, in your reading of this, let your takeaway be-
how we treat people matters. From the moment we see them, to the moment we speak to them, to the energy we offer up in a room. We see and feel it all.
“This is my 5th time in prison.I’ve been an addict since I was 13. I’m hoping to finally get it right, to never come back here. I’m really working on that. Someday, I hope to do prison missionary work, or work with you all. You give me hope that I can change.”
-Women’s Eastern Reception Diagnostic, and Correctional Center (WERDCC), current student
In Missouri, we are working through our 8 week class series and will join the women in the room in early April to play on our feet, paint together and hand out journals and certificates. It’s been a wonderful time of learning each other's names and nicknames, sharing poetry and artwork from women inside other facilities and remembering that we are not alone in our healing.
“To be a woman is fun, sexy, painful, growing, hectic, judgemental. But no one can take womanhood away from us .”
-Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, current student
Our Coffee Creek Correctional Class in Oregon has grown. This past week, we played on our feet to build focus and trust with each other before breaking down ideas of love. We had a full room with ten new faces. One returning student from our 2019 performance piece, True Colors: Stories from the Inside cried when she saw me standing in the room.
“Nikki, I came cuz I saw you on the poster and I was told you would be here. I can’t believe it’s you!”
I wanted to reach out and smooch her face, it took every ounce of my being to not reach out and touch her and hug her tightly. Instead, I air hugged the space around her and we let our tears fall. She encouraged the other women to let go of judgment and play big.
“You will get so much from this class’, said Amy, “just keep showing up and do the work.”
Together, we came up with recipes to build self love in our lives. Collectively, we agreed that it is a practice, not a given. Here’s what our student, Sami made-
In Nebraska, we are in the middle of our 8 week class series with a deep thinking and feeling group of women. We laugh, we cry, and we reveal deep parts of ourselves that the room holds and supports. Our monthly class of alumni students is now two years strong.
This month in our monthly class of alumni, Jae said, “I look forward to the second Thursday of every month cuz I know you're going to be here for me. This class means so much to me.”
In April we will spend a full day here teaching in person before heading over to Missouri.
Our work takes us into the darkness and the light. You can read Asia’s poem from our recent class below. Our work is essential to healing. We believe it is why we are here, and why our work continues to expand.
We are not alone.
You are not alone.
If you or someone you know is currently struggling, please reach out, we are available to support your journey.
“This class has given me an outlet to creatively express myself. It's given me compassion for others… I am so happy I finally got in this class.”
-Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, current student
SUSTAIN our work-
Support our work by sustaining a woman through a monthly contribution right here. Your donation will support the ongoing weekly and monthly work we continue to build in person, and online.
Thank you for being a growing part of our journey, our failures and our successes as we navigate slow and intentional growth to keep this work fresh, accessible, and necessary
*Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, alumni class
2023 Outside Class Series OPEN for enrollment-
Our four class series is a great way to become a part of our work, learn about the class structure, create with us, and build community. Each class occurs over Zoom so you can participate from anywhere. Every class you can expect to: share, create, receive, and learn as we make work that goes into our facilities and work from our inside students is shared with us.
*We only offer our outside class series 4 times a year, these fill up FAST so connect with us to register today. Please confirm which series you would like to join.
Series 1: Wednesdays from 11am-1 pm PST/2 pm-4 pm EST
February 1, 8, 15, and 22.
SOLD OUT.
Series 2: Wednesdays from 11 am-1 pm PST/2 pm-4 pm EST
April 5, 12, 19, and 26.
Series 3: Thursdays 12 pm-2 pm PST/3 pm-5 pm EST
May 4, 11, 18, and 25.
Series 4: Thursdays 5-7 pm PST/8 pm-10 pm EST
October 5, 12, 19, and 26.
This series is co-led by Caroline Cox, Project Manager at On The Inside, and Nikki Weaver Founder.
Zoom links and instructions are sent out after payment is made. We offer a sliding scale and full scholarships too, all you need to do is connect us. Payment can be made right here. Please connect with us if you would like to join our next class series and specify which four classes you would like to attend. The work builds upon itself so it is essential that you prioritize attending all four sessions. You can join our four week class series, and then continue on in our monthly class by signing up here.
*Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, alumni class 2022
Join us for our monthly gatherings of 2023-
All monthly groups meet from 12-2 pm PT/3 pm-5 pm ET
*Zoom link sent to all those who have participated in our 4-class or 8-class series.
In these classes, we gather and share, create together, move together, and discuss artwork and poetry from our students currently serving time. Your work is also shared inside facilities. It’s a chance to connect and grow with women worldwide.
Announcing our 2023 Monthly Group Gatherings (2 hours)-
**all monthly group meetings are 12 pm-2 pm PT/3 pm-5 pm ET
Saturday, Jan 7 HOPE
Tuesday, Feb 7 LET’S GET SEXY
Thursday, March 2 AGILITY
Tuesday, April 4 TRUTH
Tuesday, May 2 CREATIVITY
Saturday, June 3 JOURNEYS
Thursday, July 6 SHADOW WORK
Tuesday, August 1 LOVE
Sunday, September 3 COURAGE
Monday, October 2 FLEXIBILITY
Thursday, November 2 VALUES
Saturday, December 2 HOPE
We hope to see you in class this year- join us for four sessions and then move into our monthly group as we deepen the connections, strengthen our creativity, and build long-lasting relationships with women inside and outside prison facilities.
*Wyoming Women’s Center, alumni class 2022
Your actions matter. Your words matter. How you show up matters.
Much love and gratitude for your ongoing support,
Nikki Weaver and Caroline Cox
-Founder and Project Manager
OUR MISSION
On The Inside builds a creative connection for incarcerated women, both individually and collectively. We do this by telling our stories, igniting our hearts, and sparking dialogue. Creative connection for a greater good, we create community for women on the inside and outside by breaking down the walls that keep us apart.
The United States houses over 1.3 million incarcerated women.
We aim to change that.
Creativity is what keeps us alive, it is what draws us together. Our stories save us and have the ability to heal us. Healing is both collective and deeply personal. We create shared dialogue by holding a container for women to transform themselves. We do this through creative prompts where each woman has a voice in the room, through exploratory movement, creating a rolodex of emotions to draw from, and boundaries to hold.
We begin.
We create.
We play together.
We share.
We seek closure.
We begin again.
We hold weekly classes to gather in a circle. We create weekly newsletters where women on the outside create work (poetry, art, song) for women on the inside, and the women on the inside do the same. We create living, breathing works of art that move us far beyond the page, beyond the stage, and into a space of embodiment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Lisa Collins
Karen Pride
Fungai Mubayiwa
Katie Morell
Caroline Cox
Megan Gaffney
Atieno Bird
Dr. Mercy Nyangulu Nyepudzayi
Jazmin Jimenez
Cindy Lone
Tina Packer
Mia Zara
Marie Gonzalez
Beck Wilschefski
Elena Brower
Together, we stretch four continents wide.
Collectively, we are making a difference by creating together.
You are always invited to join our work, join our collective, join our creative expanding circle.
“I didn’t realize how charismatic I was until I started doing this work. I was so surprised at the amazing collection of friends I have when I did this assignment.”
-Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, current student
