Leaf Seligman on Monadnock Restorative Community

The Monadnock Restorative Community is currently seeking a location for its first residential facility, which will serve as a first stop for women leaving prison in Cheshire County. The goal of the house is to teach the women life and coping skills in an effort to connect them within their community and reduce the chance that the women will be incarcerated again. More information can be found at http://monadnockrestorative.org/, which also has the video of Leaf’s TedX talk.

 

Leaf started her talk by asking the Club how they wish to be remembered. Members said that they would want to be remembered as good people who were dedicated to their families and communities and had made a difference. Leaf then asked how likely it was that members would be remembered in the way they wanted. She discussed her efforts to foster connectivity within communities and to be welcoming to those people who are not connected, and who may lack support networks. People are hardwired for connection, and social isolation has been shown to be more harmful to people’s health than smoking or obesity. While speaking about connectivity, Leaf highly recommended a 2010 Ted Talk by Brene Brown, “Listening to Shame.” Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame?language=en

 

Jail is an isolating experience, and that isolation ripples out beyond the incarcerated population. There are 2.7 million minors in America today who have at least one incarcerated parent- that’s 1 out of every 28 children. Other life events can rip a person from their connections: poverty, homelessness, unemployment, divorce, addictions, and death. Leaf encourages people to seek out those who are isolated, and to restore wholeness by deepening their connection with the world around them. It’s important to give people an opportunity to be remembered for their essence and not for their errors.

 

During the question and answer period, Leaf further shared that the prisoners are so far receiving the program well. The program screens applicants, because it is looking for women who are ready to make a positive change in their lives. The program will be assigning mentors to the women and is going to try vocational mentorships. The women’s primary needs upon leaving jail are housing, a social network, and help with their self-esteem. They need security and the skills to make better choices. With those skills and better connections within the community, the women can change their stories and be remembered for their best selves, and not for the mistakes in their lives. Leaf compared the process to rehabbing a house- the pleasure is in the transformation.