The CA-NV Conference United Methodist Women invite you to a live Zoom presentation with  Jessica Nowlan, Executive Director, Young Women’s Freedom Center*

Saturday, July 25, 2020
10:00 am – 11:45 am
Additional event and registration information is below

Jessica Nowlan, Young Women’s Freedom Center

About our presenter:  Jessica Nowlan came up through the Young Women’s Freedom Center program, walking in the door in 1996 as a homeless mother of three escaping domestic violence and with a history of incarceration and then developing into the Center’s first Deputy Director. Returning first as a board member and then agreeing to come on as the Executive Director in 2016, Jessica has grown YWFC from one to four sites and launched the Sister Warrior Freedom Coalition with 12 chapters.

Her own experience as a young person navigating the juvenile justice system, as a single mother dealing with poverty, homelessness, and intimate partner violence, coupled with her experience in the field, propels her work to advance the field and she was recently named a 2019-2021 Leading Edge Fellow for her work. Prior to her current role, Jessica worked for several years as a Social Entrepreneur and as a consultant to organizations working with women and girls and at the intersections of violence, poverty, racial justice, incarceration/ re-entry and workforce development.  Jessica is a Bay Area native and currently lives in Oakland with her youngest sons.

About this topic:  From the Prison Policy Initiative report,  ‘Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019’, we learn:

• Women’s incarceration has grown at twice the pace of men’s incarceration in recent decades.
• Women of color are markedly over-represented in prisons and jails.
• A recent study revealed that a third of incarcerated women identify as lesbian or bisexual, compared to less than 10% of men.
• The same study found that lesbian and bisexual women are likely to receive longer sentences than their heterosexual peers.
• Of the girls confined in youth facilities, nearly 10% are held for status offenses, eg incorrigibility, running away, truancy. These statistics are particularly troubling because status offenses tend to be simply responses to abuse.
• As with women, girls of color and those who identify as LBTQ are disproportionately confined in juvenile facilities. A staggering 40% of girls in the juvenile justice system are lesbian, bisexual, or questioning and gender non-conforming.

About the presentation:  Jessica’s presentation will shed light on how women and girls are being swept into the criminal justice system and the strategies that the Young Women’s Freedom Center is deploying to decriminalize and end the mass incarceration of girls and women in CA.  She will also share some ways in which participants can become involved.

Following Jessica’s presentation, there will be time for questions.  During breakout groups, participants will have an opportunity to brainstorm ideas for action.

You can participate in the Zoom meeting using your smart phone, your computer or laptop, or tablet.  You can also join simply by calling the designated number – although sometimes the results are not satisfactory.  If you are able to meet in small groups at your church or in someone’s home, this will provide the opportunity for those without the required technology to participate.

Registration:  If you plan to participate, please click here to register and you will be emailed the link to join the zoom meeting.   

* Young Women’s Freedom Center is supported by the mission giving of United Methodist Women