UNE’s Applied Arts and Social Justice program to host Family Crisis Services exhibit on the Real Stories of Incarcerated Women

From August 14 to October 31, 2015, the University of New England’s School of Social Work’s Applied Arts and Social Justice program on the Portland Campus will be hosting Family Crisis Services’ “More Than a Rap Sheet: The Real Stories of Incarcerated Women,” an exhibit featuring photographs of and poems by Maine’s incarcerated women. The exhibit will officially open on September 10 during a public reception to be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on UNE’s Portland Campus in Hersey Hall (fourth floor).

Since 2000, Family Crisis Services (FCS), the domestic violence agency for Cumberland County, has been working with incarcerated women at Cumberland County Jail and Maine Correctional Center, a community where approximately 95 percent of the women have experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes.

In FCS’ support groups, women were asked to tell their truth. Fifteen minutes later, an exhibit was born. The women’s truths are profound, inspiring and raw. FCS partnered with the SALT Institute’s Christine Heinz, who photographed the women, creating forceful portraits that visually mirror the truth of the women’s words. 

Composition notebooks, with no metal or staples, will be collected at UNE’s Hersey Hall during the exhibit for the women in FCS’ support groups.

If you are being hurt by someone you love or you know someone who is, reach out for help by contacting a trained advocate at 1-866-834-4357 or visit the FCS website.