March Newsletter
Hello Spring. Welcome to the season of growth!
First, to Minneapolis teachers and support staff we send you a big hug. We have been thinking of you and standing with you for the month of March. Second, thank you to Minnesota public defenders for your tireless support of people in need of quality representation. We hope you will receive the support and resources you need to better help our community.
Spring, a time for learning and growth. As the weather reminds us, we hope that you are taking time to learn and grow in various aspects of your life. I have been asking program participants to reflect on what they learned about their bodies in our sessions. Collectively, we have discussed how we are always pleasantly surprised how much you can learn about yourself on a daily basis and also in such a short time (45 minute session!), and knowing what your body is capable of and what it is not capable of and accepting both outcomes.
New Program!!!: We have established a new partnership with the Salvation Army: Adult Rehabilitation Center downtown Minneapolis. The rehabilitation center serves men struggling with Substance Use Disorder, homelessness, and those in re-entry (transitioning from Correctional facilities back to community). We will be piloting a ‘Mindful Movement and Breathing’ program at their newly remodeled facility to the residents. Each participant will receive their own yoga mat to bring to programming or practice on their own. THANK you to all those that have donated used or gently used mats to Karuna. I look forward to updating you on the launch of this program.
Women's History Month: Thank you to all the women who volunteer and work with us. As a woman, I am proud to be the Executive Director of Karuna Community MN. In addition, we are blessed to have women represent more than half of the members of our Board of Directors.
While we take time to honor women this month, we must also educate ourselves on the toll that mass incarceration has had on women, especially women of color. Women are the fastest growing demographic in incarcerated settings in the United States. Over the past twenty years, the war on drugs has caused this significant rise in the number of women incarcerated, limiting access to appropriate treatment, safe housing, education, job security, and family support due to lack of resources and programming. Most women are held in jails or state prisons where resources tend to be even less.
Women of color are significantly over-represented in the criminal legal system. According to the ACLU, Black women represent 30% of all incarcerated women in the US, however, representing 13% of the general population and Hispanic women represent 16% of incarcerated women, although represent 11% of all women in the US. In Minnesota, the trends hold true. This graph from the Prison Policy Initiative (2018) shows the drastic increase of women incarcerated in MN from 1980 to 2015. Black, Hispanic, and Native American/American Indian women are also disproportionately affected by the criminal legal system in Minnesota.
We are thankful for our partnership with the Hennepin County Sheriff's office to offer programming to women in the Hennepin county jail and we are looking to expand programming to women impacted by the criminal legal system in MN as we continue to grow. Please email me, lauren.kvasnicka@karunacmn.org, if you know of facilities that could benefit from or are interested in our programming.
As you know from our January newsletter, 2021 was our biggest year yet in all aspects of our nonprofit business: fundamentals, operations, and programming. In order to keep this momentum we need to fund basic costs of a business as well as look to expanding programs across the state! We need your help. Your donations help us continue to have a paid employee, cover the basic costs of a nonprofit business, and pay instructors to facilitate programs in partner facilities. That’s a lot! We thank you!
May we all be forever students experiencing growth,
Lauren Kvasnicka and the Karuna Team
