I AM A SOMEBODY: EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS

I AM A SOMEBODY exposes the misunderstandings which society has about justice-involved-women and advocates for the transformation of women's penal institutions into healing centers.

I AM A SOMEBODY is a book of stories - stories to open our hearts and minds to what statistics cannot reveal - experiences that traumatized the youthful years of justice-involved (incarcerated) women. When adults doled out harm, instead of love, to the girl children in their care, the youth sought refuge in unhealthy relationships. Those relationships led them into prostitution, drugs and crimes. These stories, and the accompanying data illustrate that incarcerating women, without healing their underlying traumas, is short-sighted, ineffective, and unjust. Restorative/transformative (healing) processes must replace retributive (harmful) processes in U.S. society.

Sharon Schmitz, A Sister of Mercy, spent years as a nurse in Missouri, followed by 12 years organizing small Christian Communities in LA. She then entered the world of justice-involved-women. During those 29 years she became aware of the childhood/teen traumas which enticed the young people into a world of crime. With her encouragement, many of the women wrote their life stories for her. This book is a result of her experiences with these women.