This month, 29 extraordinary women graduated from the Family & Children’s Services Women in Recovery (WIR) program. They proudly walked onto the stage to receive their certificates of completion, signed by their respective judges. Among these graduates were mothers to 72 children and grandmothers to 41 grandchildren, underscoring the program’s profound impact on family reunification.
Collectively, these 24 women have overcome 544.5 years of addiction, each avoiding multiple years in prison through their hard work and commitment to transforming their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Together, they have avoided 310 years of incarceration, resulting in significant cost savings for the state of Oklahoma and its taxpayers. Instead of serving time, they focused on addressing trauma, sustaining recovery, gaining job skills, starting careers and rebuilding parent-child bonds in preparation for successful reunification. Today, all new graduates are employed full-time, living in safe housing and continuing their efforts to reunite with their children and families, showcasing the program’s success in breaking the cycle of addiction and incarceration.
Among the graduates, four have completed their GEDs, five have gone through the welding program and five have completed the PRSS training program with career achievements ranging from supervisory roles and employment in the restaurant and hospitality industry to senior care, welding and CNC machining certification, and business entrepreneurship, all leading to stable employment. In addition to these incredible employment achievements, 17 plan to pursue further education.
Each graduate has demonstrated remarkable resilience, hard work, and courage. They now have hope, goals and plans for their future. WIR is fortunate to continue observing them as they work towards fulfilling those plans. All graduates can participate in the Continuing Care program, which provides ongoing support for their lives.
The entire WIR program staff extends their heartfelt gratitude to funders, supporters, volunteers and partners for their unwavering support, which has made these successes possible.
