Voices United: Telling and Owning Our Stories through Safe Space Inside a Federal Female Facility

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Abstract

“We are more than just incarcerated women! I believe that I am a woman worthy of love, change, greatness, and success. But knowing that other people may believe the same is uplifting.” – Voices United Inside Member

Their stories are of addiction, abuse, trauma, victimization, loss, fear, and blame. Their stories are also of love, worth, acceptance, trust, value, and transformation. Their stories are their own and they now have purpose, place, and power. The women (and men) of Voices United, the first female Think Tank in a U.S. federal facility, located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States, create and maintain a safe space in which their voices can be heard and respected without judgment, oftentimes for the first time. This paper highlights the power of narratives and giving voice to our own stories within the context of a safe space. Think Tank members discuss their own definitions and components of safe space, how it is created and maintained, and why it is crucial to our existence, both inside and outside of the walls that separate us.

Author

• Amanda Hall-Sanchez, West Virginia University