Grumet: Pandemic brings plot twist to Women's Storybook Project of Texas
Over the past five years, more than 6,600 women in Texas prisons have made audio recordings of “The Invisible String,” a children’s book about the unseen bonds that connect us to those we cherish, no matter the distance. Each inmate’s recording and a copy of the brightly illustrated book were sent to her children, who often live hundreds of miles away with Grandma or another guardian.
Storytime together, while they’re apart.
The story by Patrice Karst has become the signature book of the Women’s Storybook Project of Texas, a nonprofit that nurtures family bonds strained by prison walls. Over the past two decades, incarcerated women in the program have picked out books they thought their children would enjoy, then recorded themselves reading the books so their kids could hear a story in their mother’s voice anytime they like.
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When COVID-19 lockdowns hit Texas prisons last year, though, “The Invisible String” became a theme for the nonprofit itself.
For a year and a half, while visitors were barred from state prisons to help prevent the spread of the virus, volunteers couldn’t meet with hundreds of inmates who wanted to record books for their kids. That halted the flow of storybook recordings to the children missing their moms.
So the Women’s Storybook Project developed a pandemic plan.
“It was an opportunity to be really creative,” executive director Jill Gonzalez told me.
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Women represent a distinct minority — roughly 7% — of the inmates in Texas prisons. But the overwhelming majority of those women — 81% — are mothers, according to a report by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Two-thirds of the women in Texas prisons are there for nonviolent offenses. Still, a woman serving the typical nine-year sentence for a drug offense or eight-year sentence for a property crime will end up missing much of her child’s youth.
Plenty of studies have documented what we all know to be true: A mother’s incarceration has devastating effects on her children, who are less likely to finish high school and more likely to experience anxiety, isolation, teenage parenthood and their own stints in jail.
The Women’s Storybook Project, launched in 2003 by Judith Dullnig, aims to disrupt that prison pipeline by nurturing a connection through books.
“We know that if a child’s parents are in prison, they’re much more likely to end up in prison themselves,” Gonzalez said. “We know that if moms have a strong connection to their families, they’re less likely to return to prison. We’re trying to help enhance that relationship and make it stronger, over time, so that when mom goes home, she has a reason to stay, and the skills to stay, and she has hope.
“We’re a small project,” Gonzalez added, “but we have a very big impact.”
Which made it all the more important to keep it going during the pandemic.
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Unable to visit the prisons after COVID-19 shutdowns began in March 2020, the army of storybook volunteers started, appropriately enough, with “The Invisible String.”
They mailed copies of the book to dozens of incarcerated mothers and sent copies to their families, so they could read the story together over the phone.
Then volunteers wrote letters to the moms, asking which additional books the nonprofit could send directly to the kids. There wouldn’t be recordings to go with them, but at least the children would get new books to enjoy and discuss with their mothers on the phone. Stories about cars, dinosaurs and Curious George were popular requests.
The organization also developed written activities that inmates could share with their families. For instance, a mother might draw a picture of what she hopes for her child’s future. Or she might fill out one side of a bookmark with a list of favorites her kid could ask her about: favorite song, favorite fruit. Then she could mail the items to her child so they could talk about them during their next phone call.
“Sometimes it’s hard to talk to someone you haven’t seen in a while,” Gonzalez said. The books and the other activities “can help you start that conversation.”
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Finally, this October, volunteers were able to return to the prisons to help inmates record new stories for their kids. Because of social distancing, however, the storybook program is running at half its usual capacity. Instead of serving up to 22 women at each prison at a time, the classes are capped at 11.
At the same time, organizers have decided the pandemic plan was so successful, they will keep those activities and tack them on to the traditional program.
Previously, an inmate could produce one book recording per child per month for four months, then would have to sit out at least four months before participating again. Now, during that downtime, inmates can use the written activities developed during the pandemic.
The program serves 12 prisons and state jails in Texas, with waiting lists everywhere.
“We could triple or quadruple (the scale of the program), and the classes would be full,” Gonzalez said.
Adding classes would require more volunteers and in most cases more space or additional programming days at the prison, she said.
Anyone who has ever shared a book with a child understands how precious that storytime is.
“Your correspondence and books have allowed the bond between me and my daughters to flourish,” one inmate wrote to the volunteers, grateful the program kept going during the pandemic. “Thank y’all for shining some light during this dark period.”
What a beautiful gift indeed, helping families find that invisible string.
Grumet is the Statesman’s Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@statesman.com or via Twitter at @bgrumet.
Lend a hand
The Women’s Storybook Project welcomes volunteers to help inmates make recordings, as well as donations to help buy or ship books. Visit storybookproject.org.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Grumet: Pandemic brings plot twist to Women's Storybook Project
