Initiative to support and represent female prisoners

NUECES COUNTY, Texas – The Purple Door and the Nueces County Sheriff's Office are partnering on a new initiative, set to begin in early September, to provide support groups for female prison inmates.

Sheriff JC Hooper said it was about a month ago that the organization contacted him to introduce the collaboration.

“I was really shocked that we didn't do this sooner,” Hooper said. “This should have been done years ago, especially for the vulnerable female inmates in our prison.”

Katlyn Campsmith, sex offender services coordinator at The Purple Door, said the ultimate goal is to help incarcerated women understand the support services available to them once they are released, but they also assist with the intake of prisoners.

“The fact that we'll be able to make the connection while they're there, I think, makes it a little less scary to engage our services once they get out of prison,” Campsmith said. “To make it more accessible, make the connection before you get out and have all of these things going on.”

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She said her team is aware that many women in prison may feel hopeless if they don't know who to turn to next.

“The goal and hope is to get this going for them while they're in a situation where there's not a lot of hope, so it's a great honor and privilege to be able to offer this to them,” Campsmith said.

Hooper said while the prison offers other programs, including clergy and a visiting literacy group, the Purple Door partnership will be one of the “first programs specifically for women” to be implemented at the prison.

“By connecting with them in this environment, whether it's group exercises or one-on-one with the tablets, they build that relationship so that when these women come out of here, they know there's a place they can go,” he said. “We're just getting started with The Purple Door, I think there's a lot more work to do.”

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3NEWS anchor Leslie Adami and chief photojournalist Preston West accompanied Captain Belinda Bustamante and Lieutenant Olivia Gutierrez on a tour of the Nueces County Jail to see the exact hallways, rooms and meeting areas where The Purple Door will bring its support groups. According to Bustamante, the new collaboration is already generating great enthusiasm.

“She [The Purple Door] will not only educate them on the services and programs offered, but they will also build a relationship that they will take with them when they leave here,” said Bustamante. “The Purple Door will advocate for them and if possible be there for them when they go to court to offer them support. A lot of people here don't have a support system. Knowing that someone is advocating for them may help them turn things around.”

On this tour, 3NEWS met inmates Melinda Adame, Shannon Nuñez and Sarah Pinkston. They are all incarcerated in the Nueces County Jail for different reasons, but have a common goal: to support one another, build on their faith and use the programs offered while incarcerated to do their best after their release.

“She wants to be part of a program that will help her afterward. She wants to do more for her family, more for herself. Amen,” Pinkston said, referring to the two women next to her.

“I'm 40 years old and I'm ready to end my life. Faced with this situation, I'm ready to move on because I know God has something planned for me out there,” Nuñez said.

“Many women find the family they don't have here,” said Adame. “Many people in the world don't understand that there is a community here when you are locked up. We have to take care of each other.”

Adame, Nuñez and Pinkston welcomed the news of the collaboration, but hope to be out by the time it's implemented.

“I have only heard good things about The Purple Door, and if they are willing to help women, I will support them,” Adame said.

Hooper says the collaboration with The Purple Door will currently only be for the female prison population, but he acknowledges that the organization serves men as well. The sheriff says the possibility of bringing representatives from The Purple Door to the male inmates is an option they would like to explore in the future.