Although the number of people in prison throughout the United States has steadily declined since 2009, the effort made to reduce the number of men behind bars has far exceeded any attempts to lower the number of women in the same predicament. In 70% of states, women’s prison populations have either grown while men’s populations declined, grown much more rapidly than men’s populations, or declined at a much less dramatic rate than men’s.
The number of women within the criminal justice system has risen dramatically over the last couple of decades. Since 2009, the population of incarcerated men in state prisons has experienced a notable drop of 5%, but the tendency to overlook women’s decarceration has led to a much slower decline for females at just 0.29% and the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has multiplied by eight over the last four decades.
The nation as a whole may not be taking necessary action to fix the discrepancy between declining prison populations of different genders, but thankfully, there are individuals out there who strive to prevent women from returning to prison once their sentences are up.
Enter Tammy Kennedy, the founding director of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility’s cosmetology program and the reason that so many previously incarcerated women have been able to support themselves after their release without turning to illegal activity. Over the course of the last 16 years, Kennedy has granted 89 women their cosmetology licenses through her Hair Design program and only six have returned to prison. The program reduces the chances of returning to prison to just a third of the national average.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp1DFvQTcJk
After studying cosmetology in Salem, Oregon, Kennedy wanted to learn how to work with textured hair and found an opportunity to do so training with a cosmetology teacher at a local men’s prison. After working there for five years, she applied at Portland Community College and through that was granted the opportunity to start the cosmetology program there. While vocational training programs within the prison system were not uncommon at the time for men, the options for female prisoners were sparse.
Due to the environment, there were some challenges that Kennedy had to consider when starting up her Hair Design class. Security is always high on the list of priorities at a correctional facility, so she had to take certain precautionary measures to make sure that having beauty supplies were carefully monitored; all of the tools were accounted for so that nobody could sneak out with them and the hair dye was locked up so that no prisoner could try to change her appearance. Overall, the cosmetology program at Coffee Creek has been a success, with students going on to get desirable jobs and even open up their own salons upon being released.
Members enrolled in the program work ten hour days, four days a week in order to learn about hair, nails, and basic aesthetics. The students learn just as much about etiquette and work ethic as they do about the technical skills they are presented with. Kennedy insists that everyone show up to class with their hair and makeup already done–that’s how they would present themselves as cosmetologists in the outside world, after all–and says that although many women come into the prison feeling (understandably) hopeless, this is an opportunity that allows them to realize that with effort, they can reform their lives.
By the time they leave the correctional facility, Kennedy’s students have become licensed cosmetologists in the State of Oregon. Already having that certification upon release makes it much easier for the women to find employment; it shows that they genuinely have the qualifications to fill open positions. Rather than having to work a lower-paying job or having to go back to school, which can accrue a painful amount of debt, these women have the opportunity to jump into the workforce right away.
“When someone comes to prison, they’re starting out with a strike against them, so I think that it’s important for us to give them the best education they can and to teach all the newest techniques,” shares Kennedy. “My students are dedicated to changing their lives and they rise to the occasion.”
