The United States has the largest prison population in the world. Of that population, the fastest growing demographic is women. Of these women, nearly 80% are mothers. Of those mothers, over 70% have children under 18.

Many of these women have lost contact with their children and families—and as a result, both the women and the children suffer. Mothers of Bedford, a 2010 documentary, examines the life of mothers in prison, and follows the visitation program at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York.

Recently, the Community Service Residential Learning Community hosted a screening of Mothers of Bedford in the Living Learning Commons classroom. The screening was preceded by the remarks of Nina Lukens, who shared the RLC’s reasoning behind showing the movie. The group has chosen to volunteer at the Dismas Home, the newly opened home in Manchester for formerly incarcerated women. Lukens explained that their RLC wanted to invest time in a population that they are unfamiliar with, and thought that showing Mothers of Bedford would be an ideal way to raise awareness and educate other Anselmians about the population of women in prison.

Professor Jennifer Thorn, faculty advisor of the Community Service RLC, also feels passionate about educating students about people whose lives are very different from what we experience on the Hilltop. She explains that the RLC wanted to do a “public event that would raise awareness of women in prison.”

This event was especially important because it is relevant to a variety of fields, which, according to Professor Thorn, is the mark of a good event. Mothers of Bedford poses ethical, philosophical, historical, political, and sociological questions that “require expertise and perspective.”

The film, Professor Thorn notes, challenges viewers to acknowledge truths are not always evident. The Bedford Hills Correctional Facility has one of the most influential programs and empowers women to further develop their parenting skills. So many women in prison are also survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, or come from crime ridden families, and factors such as these often make parenting exponentially more difficult.

According to Professor Thorn, the film “sharpens our sense of the importance of family,” but also causes viewers to acknowledge that “the desires of a family require social structure to be in place in order to flourish.”

Many of the women in the film have lives devoid of social structure, financial stability, or professional opportunities. Without any of these things and lacking support, it is more difficult for them to be good mothers. The visitation program at Bedford Hills seeks to fill these voids and support the mothers in developing the skills they have always deeply wanted to heighten. Additionally, it provides a safe and loving space for children to spend time with their mothers who would otherwise be absent from their lives.

While the film focuses on a prison in New York, women in prison face similar challenges across the country, and even right here in Goffstown. Dan Forbes, director of the Meelia Center for Community Engagement, has firsthand experience working with women in prison who face challenges such as those presented in Mothers of Bedford. Forbes currently serves on the Citizen’s Advisory Board of New Hampshire State Prisons and also coaches a softball team at the women’s prison in Goffstown. He explains that one of the greatest needs of incarcerated women—of all people—is to feel connected. This is something typically lacking in prisons; however, connection can be found through things such as the softball team. Upon being released from prison, women are still in need of the human connection that they are too often denied. Dismas Home New Hampshire is a result of this need.

Both Forbes and Professor Thorn agree that students should be aware of the challenges incarcerated women face. Not only should they be aware, they should be compelled to contribute for change. Forbes explains that one of the reasons Saint Anselm College has built a strong connection with Dismas Home is because the college is capable of providing the services the women most need. Whether the women need a meal, or encouragement, or tutoring, or assistance in job applications, Saint Anselm College students are capable of offering this service. Dismas Home provides the post release support that the correctional system lacks.

Professor Thorn similarly believes that as a college with one of the most engaged student bodies in the nation, “we should go and try to help and try to learn.” She strongly believes that students are capable of making friends in worlds outside of their own, describing all students as leaders with visions and passions that matter.

Students interested in learning more about the population of women in prison should consider taking Professor Elaine Rizzo’s course, titled “Women in Prison.” This course is unique in that one day a week students will travel to the prison and have class with incarcerated women. The course will “explore the changes needed to enact meaningful and effective policies regarding crime, punishment, and restorative justice,” according to Professor Rizzo.

The course is partially based on Pope John Paul II’s determination to “ensure that prisoners have the means to redeem themselves” and seeks, among other things, to “motivate and encourage students to become active agents for the promotion of social justice,” according to the course syllabus.

The common factors among Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Dismas Home New Hampshire, and Saint Anselm College, are their commitments to social justice and upholding the dignity of all people, both of which are exemplified in Mothers of Bedford and student volunteering efforts at Dismas Home.