“You Touched My Life”
Everyone in prison has a choice about how to serve their time. The Tapestry program teaches the resident to make positive choices rather than the negative ones that brought them to prison. It assists the programmer with understanding how their choices affect others in their community and focuses on ultimately achieving role model behaviors. The programmer begins to notice others in their community who have greater hardships than they do, such as those serving a life sentence who also are role models.
“You Touched my Life” day is a Tapestry outreach to recognize prison residents serving lengthy or life sentences who make a difference with their own positive choices despite the adversity of a long prison sentence. It is a day of affirming these positive choices by saying, “Good job. You make a difference! We noticed you!”
The Tapestry women, and the alumni, reach out to these residents by inviting them to write an essay describing how and why they decided to make better choices. These essays are published into a booklet accompanied by positive affirmations written by the Tapestry and alumni residents. The Tapestry women also write personalized positive encouragements, called positive strokes, expressing how these residents touched their life.
The overall effect from this event brings about uplifted spirits and the inspiration to strive to do better works to others in the prison setting. This day may also motivate or inspire other women serving life sentences, or lengthy sentences to make better choices because they noticed someone cared enough to say “Thank You for Touching my life”.
[Story written and submitted by a Tapestry outside volunteer.]
