Cresson, Pa. – Eighteen Mount Aloysius College students, accompanied by criminology professor Dr. Elizabeth Mansley, traveled to Indiana County Jail on Friday, April 17, to bring Operation Storybook to incarcerated mothers. The project, part of Mansley’s Women and Crime class at the College, is a rehabilitative program that allows women in prison to record themselves reading a storybook. The books are then gifted to their children.
Adanya Zunich, a junior criminology and psychology major from Lilly, says that she’s excited to help foster relationships for the women in prison.
“My earliest memories are of my mom reading me stories. So being able to foster that relationship between a mother and child, it’s not only great for the moms, but it’s really important for the kids, too. Just to have your mom read you a story, it’s really special.”
Operation Storybook is more than just a connection point, says Mansley, assistant professor of criminology at the Mount. It provides an aspect of rehabilitation that will, hopefully, break a cycle of incarceration.
“I believe it’s really important to help moms get ready to return to society,” Mansley said. “And one of the best ways to do that is to maintain close connections to their children. We also know that children of incarcerated parents are more likely to be incarcerated themselves. So, if we can do something to break that cycle, we want to be a part of it.”
Mansley says that because people often associate incarceration with men, female offenders are often overlooked, even though they face unique challenges while in prison. The students will also be interviewing the women in the Indiana County Jail to learn more about those challenges
“Only seven percent of incarcerated individuals are women,” says Adhar Sherchan, a senior IT major with a minor in criminology from Nepal. “A lot of these women are in prison because of their circumstances. Getting to interview them, I think it’s really going to shape our perspectives on incarceration and rehabilitation.”
Zunich agrees.
“I plan on working within corrections, so learning how we can better help these individuals come out of prison and successfully reintegrate into society is really meaningful for me. Any time you get the opportunity to take what you’re learning in the classroom and actually help people, no matter big or small, is a really good feeling. I hope they’re as excited as we are.”
To learn more about the Mount’s criminology program, visit mtaloy.edu/criminology.
