Addressing Needs in our Community

Each week approximately 25 women are released from Santa Cruz County jails. Up to a third are homeless upon release. Three out of four are re-arrested and cycled back to jail an average of four times. Most women in this re-incarceration syndrome come from impoverished families, are victims of abuse, and have limited access to education and health care. At least half of the women incarcerated in Santa Cruz are mothers, typically lacking adequate resources to parent their children. As children, many of these women had a parent who was incarcerated. Now, the children of these women are at an increased risk of becoming the next generation of inmates.

Addiction and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

The overwhelming majority of women in jail struggle with addiction. A recent analysis of 100 Blaine Street women designated as recidivists by jail staff revealed 100% had a documented substance abuse history. Many report using drugs to self-medicate depression and other mental health problems highly associated with histories of abuse and trauma that begin in childhood and often continue into adult years.

Gemma clients will be required to participate in individual therapy. We agree with data that supports the following: helping people understand the roots of their pain and develop alternative coping skills enables people to change life patterns and reduce recidivism. Gemma is committed to providing in-depth, one-on-one counseling with therapists trained in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems highly associated with histories of abuse.

From Seed to Blossom

Rhea Hunter

Gemma was founded in 2003, by two women in jail struggling with addiction and tired of cycling from jail to homelessness. It was in a Job Skills class at the Blaine Street women’s facility that these two women decided to start a transitional house for women getting out of jail. One of them, Rhea Hunter, continued the project with the help of other Blaine Street instructors and community members. Every two weeks, meetings were held for a year until Gemma received its own non-profit status. A Board of Directors was formed and comprehensive research, fundraising and program development began. Gemma continued to grow, both in community support and organizational budget over the next year.

Once Gemma received enough financial support, a Program Director and Administrative Assistant were hired to administer the program’s development. They worked as a team writing grants, meeting with other transitional housing programs and reaching out to the community. By 2006 Mardi Wormhoudt of the County Board of Supervisors was fully in support of Gemma’s mission and determined to help get the program off the ground. She initiated a collaboration of many county agencies to analyze Gemma’s necessity in our community. As a result of their research on 100 potential Gemma clients, the team determined Gemma was a good answer to helping women stay out of jail in Santa Cruz County. Later that year, the Board of Supervisors allotted $200,000 to get Gemma started.

In July 2006, Gemma merged with the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc (CAB). CAB’s mission of ending poverty and Gemma’s mission of helping women transition from jail to the community made a great match. CAB’s forty year history of providing reputable services in our community helped Gemma become more established. With their administrative and technical support, Gemma opened its first office in August. A Program Planner was hired to help with the development of services and staff. The former Gemma Board of Directors shifted to the role of the Gemma Advisory Board, providing advice and fundraising support to the staff. In December 2006, a Day Program Coordinator was hired to develop the in-custody academic and life skills program. She is currently working hard to recruit volunteer instructors for the program that is scheduled to start in February 2007.