For more than a decade I have been working with women who experience(d) extreme poverty, chronic illness, criminalization and abuse (see the book Can’t Catch […]
Eulogy for Kahtia
Kahtia passed away last week. Her death was sudden, unexpected, still unexplained. Her husband found her lying in bed, unresponsive, when he came home from […]
Kahtia: Loving mother, Faithful friend, Brilliant and funny woman. You left us too soon.
Dear Friends of the Women of Can’t Catch a Break I am writing to share devastating news. My dear dear friend “Kahtia” passed away on […]
Farewell Isabella
I never thought I’d have to write this eulogy for Isabella. Even though she struggled with addiction and a host of other challenges, Isabella always […]
Can’t Catch a Break: September 2018 Update
Over the past year life seems to have settled down for quite a few of the formerly incarcerated Massachusetts women whom I first met a […]
Babes From Their Parents’ Arms
My friend and colleague Lois Ahrens’ recent piece in the Daily Hampshire Gazette reminded me that in this time of outrage over the separation of children […]
Out of Jail, Out of Work, Out of Luck
“I apply for jobs everywhere and it starts off good but then they see my CORI [Criminal Offender Record Information] and come up with a […]
Housing Tribulations: Still Can’t Catch a Break, January 2018
Over the past decade I have witnessed homeless and criminalized women enter and move through middle age. While they articulate ever greater understandings of their […]
The Women of Can’t Catch a Break: Fall 2017
The summer can be a slow time for anyone looking for jobs, housing or just trying to get things done. That’s true for must of […]
The Women of Can’t Catch a Break: Early Summer 2017 Update
I’ve finally had time this summer to try to touch bases with all of the forty-eight women who started in this project eight years ago. […]