Last Updated on January 24, 2024, 9:05 AM | Published: January 24, 2024
Calm Waters Center for Children and Families sends this information as posted below:
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, January 23, 2024 – Calm Waters Center for Children and Families, the only grief center in Oklahoma City offering free grief support services to the entire family, is launching the latest series of FREE Grief Support Groups to the detained men and women at the Oklahoma County Detention Center. The program includes specialized grief workshops and weekly support groups for incarcerated men and women.
Calm Waters has served as Oklahoma City’s grief experts for 32 years. In January 2023, the agency began providing free grief support groups to detainees at the Oklahoma County Detention Center, the only mental health program in the facility. Since then, Calm Waters has provided grief support groups to 54 detainees, and grief workshops to more than 800. In January 2024, the agency has begun the latest series of groups, providing free grief support to a new group of men and women.
When Erin Engelke, Calm Waters CEO, was asked to serve on the Criminal Justice Authority Citizens Advisory Board at the OK County Jail in 2022, she received a front-row perspective on the severe lack of mental health resources for the individuals detained at the facility. Today, she is proud of the impact the program has made and continues to make on the lives of the detained participants.
“It is truly an honor to continue providing much needed mental health and grief support services to the Oklahoma County Detention Center for a second year,” said Engelke. “It became so evident after our first year that the men and women detained there desperately need the tools to overcome life’s challenges, especially after a traumatic loss.”
Jail Program Coordinator Mac Mullings estimates that three-fourths of the jail’s 1,600 detainees suffer from some kind of mental health issues.
“The grief and emotional pain experienced by those incarcerated can often times seem insurmountable,” said Mullings. “The loss of a loved one, separation from family, substance abuse or the loss of their life as they knew it can leave lasting scars. Sometimes it includes grieving the consequences of their own actions.”
Beginning January 2024, the newest series of Grief Support Groups meets weekly for a nine-week series. Each group is comprised of no more than ten individuals to promote emotional safety within the space. There will be four groups total offered in the series, two groups for men and two for women. There is no cost for participants to register for the grief support groups.
All detainees are welcome to register, there are no qualifiers on the type of grief they are experiencing. Direct conversations with detainees discussed types of grief including death, relationship loss, child separation, loss of freedom and more of the traumas felt by the vast majority of the facility population.
“Providing grief support group services inside the Oklahoma County Detention Center fills a critical need for an often-overlooked population,” said Bailey Maxey, Calm Waters Program Director. “When we can provide support and facilitate education on healthier coping skills to a person at this level of crisis – we are investing not only in that person but in the safety of our communities. Creating a safe space for individuals in their time of need pays dividends for Oklahoma that stretch far into the future, all rooted in services only provided by Calm Waters.”
Groups are facilitated by previously incarcerated individuals, recruited through a partnership with TEEM. These contracted positions are an income opportunity for individuals who have previously served time in jail. Furthermore, having a facilitator who has lived experience creates immediate trust in the support group, a vital factor for effective grief support service.
All curriculum for grief support groups has been created specifically to serve those at the Oklahoma County Jail. Calm Waters staff modeled the curriculum off the existing Calm Waters grief curriculum, which has been successfully serving clients for 32 years, but carefully adapted to address the many types of grief, frustration and limited autonomy in the jail.
“Calm Waters provides the participants with methods and skills to process the many emotions in a healthy and life changing way,” said Mac Mullings. “Oklahoma County Detention Center is grateful for their partnership and how they pour into the lives of those currently residing in the building”.
About Calm Waters Center for Children and Families
Calm Waters Center for Children and Families provides FREE grief support services for children and families on their grief journey caused by death, divorce or other significant loss. Since beginning in 1992, Calm Waters has served more than 82,000 individuals across the Greater OKC Metro Area through their Center and School Support Groups. For more information about Calm Waters and their services, visit Calmwaters.org (https://www.calmwaters.org/) or call 405-841-4800. Calm Waters is a proud United Way of Central Oklahoma Partner Agency.
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