The Pearl Program
The purpose of the Pearl Program is to lessen the impact of maternal separation due to incarceration by strengthening the mother-daughter relationship during the mother’s incarceration through enhanced visitation sessions.
Through our partnership with women’s prisons in Gatesville, Texas, GEM serves girls with mothers in prison by taking them to visit their mothers in Gatesville the first Saturday of each month for an enhanced 4-hour visitation session. GEM provides “more than just a visit” by introducing and encouraging facilitated discussions between the mothers and daughters that are open and honest and revolve around critical life issues while building the mother-daughter bond.
Without GEM, many girls would be unable to see their mothers often – if at all. In addition to lowering the likelihood of recidivism among incarcerated parents, there is strong evidence that maintaining contact with one’s incarcerated parent improves a child’s emotional response to the incarceration and supports parent-child attachment.
Upon the mother’s release from prison, mothers and daughters are encouraged to remain actively involved with GEM, by volunteering and sharing their insight and experiences with current participants—making “Breaking the Cycle – Building the Bond” a consistent theme in their lives.
The Diamond Program
The Diamond Program strives to equip our girls with the tools necessary to make positive life choices in spite of their circumstances by using their stumbling blocks as stepping stones for a brighter tomorrow. To ensure our girls lead successful lives with vision and purpose, the Diamond Program provides a variety of character cultivation workshops that aim to enhance self-esteem, develop leadership and communication skills, demonstrate proper etiquette, establish cognizance of wellness, teach social and life skills and instill moral values. The Diamond Program also strengthens the girls’ sense of civic engagement and awareness by offering them the opportunity to give back to the community through service.
Through these activities the girls develop real-world abilities that will last them a lifetime. Professionals from various fields, who are committed to making a difference, carry out the above-mentioned objectives by providing quality instruction in a caring, inclusive and learning environment.