On The Inside February 2024
Welcome here with us. Growth and expansion that is our focus this month and this year.
This month we are expanding our work into Australia. It is a welcomed measure of growth and our team is excited to be a part of growing our work globally. We intend to build an on the ground team in Australia and have begun those efforts. Our first point of work will begin with Tarrengower Prison, a small rural facility housing about 40 women in Victoria. Victoria is home to two female facilities and we hope to offer our programming in both facilities. Currently, our 8 class series poster is being shared with adults incarcerated and staff to gain interest. In March, our facilitator team will join the facility as guests for International Women’s Day- here we will share our stories, our voices, and art made by women serving time in other states.
*Katie, Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
We also recently met with the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institute to expand our programming across the state of Wyoming. This would put us inside three facilities in Wyoming.
Our Board of Directors are conquering and dividing, working together to co-write more grants together, to expand our networking and teams, and to build our knowledge across state and country lines. I am expanded every day because of this work and the people I get to create with.
Working within systems across state and country lines is no small feat. Daily we navigate time differences, how work can and can not be shared, whether video or images of women behind bars can be shared, whether first or last names or numbers must be used when identifying someone. And then, when we get past all that-
We meet the most incredible humans.
Sensitive, aware, afraid, resentful, angry, tearful, depressed, hopeful, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters.
In it all we find ourselves, we share ourselves, and we are better for it.
With awe and admiration for the time you invest with us here,
Nikki
Founder & Executive Director
*Coffee Creek Correctional Facility Oregon, October 2023
*Audrey, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility 2023
Don’t sit on the outside of our circle:
1.Sign up for our 2024 class series (offered 4 times throughout the year), then join our monthly circle after completing our four class series.
2.Become a monthly donor to sustain and build our work.
3.Share our work through your social media platforms to build our collective awareness.
“Now I can see how far I’ve come. The dust has settled.”
-Coffee Creek Correctional Facility 2023
Your actions matter. Your words matter. How you show up matters.
Much love and gratitude for your ongoing support,
Nikki Weaver
Caroline Cox
De Bolton
Jennifer Chapman
Atieno Bird
-The Dream Team
Facilities we currently serve at:
-Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, since 2018, this is where Caroline and I met and began our work
-Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, since 2021
-Wyoming Women’s Center, since 2021
-Wyoming Women’s Center: Youth Offenders, since 2023
-Women’s Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Missouri, since 2023
-Virginia Correctional Center for Women, since 2023
*We lead weekly and monthly classes at these facilities led by our two person facilitator teams, and monthly classes for caseworkers at some of these facilities.
*Wyoming Women’s Center 2023
Announcing our 2024 Monthly Group Gatherings (2 hours on Zoom)-
**all monthly group meetings are 12pm-2 pm PT/3pm-5 pm ET
Saturday Jan 6 HOPE
Tuesday Feb 6 LET’S GET SEXY
Thursday March 7 AGILITY
Tuesday April 2 TRUTH
Tuesday May 7 CREATIVITY
Saturday June 1 JOURNEYS
Thursday July 11 SHADOW WORK
Tuesday August 6 LOVE
Sunday September 1 COURAGE
Monday October 7 FLEXIBILITY
Thursday November 7 VALUES
Saturday December 7 HOPE
**all monthly meetings are 12pm-2 pm PST/1-3pm MST/2-4pmCST/3pm-5 pm EST/9-11pm Zimbabwe and Croatia/5-7am Australia + a day
SIGNATURE FOUR CLASS SERIES-
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.
2024 Four Class Series (2 hours on Zoom)-
Thursdays January 4, 11, 18, and 25
Saturdays March 2, 9, 16, and 23
Thursdays September 5,12, 19, and 26
Saturdays October 5,12,19, and 26
**all classes are 12pm-2 pm PST/1-3pm MST/2-4pmCST/3pm-5 pm EST/9-11pm Zimbabwe and Croatia/5-7am Australia + a day
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.
2024 Bi- Weekly Support Group Meeting Dates (60 mins on ZOOM)-
Tuesday January 2nd
Tuesday January 16th
Tuesday January 30th
Tuesday February 13th
Tuesday February 27th NO CLASS
Tuesday March 5th
Tuesday March 19th
Tuesday April 2nd
Tuesday April 16th
Tuesday April 30th
Tuesday May 14th
Tuesday May 28th
Tuesday June 11th
Tuesday June 25th
Tuesday July 9th
Tuesday July 23rd
Tuesday August 6th
Tuesday August 20th
Tuesday September 3rd
Tuesday September 17th
Tuesday October 1st
Tuesday October 15th
Tuesday October 29th
Tuesday November 12th
Tuesday November 26th
Tuesday December 10th
Tuesday December 24th NO CLASS
**all meetings are 5 pm-6 pm PST/ 6-7 pm MST/ 7-8pm CST/ 8 pm-9 pm EST**
Zoom Links are NOT sent out without confirmation on attendance
Email Caroline@ontheinside.space
To confirm attendance and be provided with the ZOOM Link for the Bi- Weekly Support Group
*Human BEING at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility November 2023
“I started to believe that I can survive in this place.”
-Coffee Creek Correctional Facility 2023, current class
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
Reema Zaman
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.
