Chaffee County Women Who Care announce award for mindfulness in prison – by Ark Valley Voice Editors

Chaffee County Women Who Care (CCWWC) announced that local nonprofit program Mindfulness in Jail has been selected as the recipient of the second quarter 2024 financial award.

On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, women from across Chaffee County gathered at a church in Salida to hear funding proposals from three local organizations, including Jane’s Place, Buena Vista Heritage and Mindfulness in the Jail Program. After each nonprofit representative made a proposal on how the funds would be used and the potential impact of supporting the group, CCWWC members voted on the winner.

“It was a very special night where women from across our region came together to learn and give,” said Sandy Visnack, CCWWC Steering Committee member. “Our members are so generous, not only with their time and financial resources, but with their hearts. They care about communities across Chaffee County and know that their collective membership in Chaffee County Women Who Care makes a positive impact.”

Mindfulness in the Jail is an organization dedicated to helping inmates at the Chaffee County Detention Center (CCDC) be skillful while incarcerated and maintain healthy family and community members upon release. The program accomplishes this by providing inmates with a 12-week mindfulness-based emotional intelligence course (“The Path to Freedom”), yoga classes, and reintegration resources.

“The extremely generous financial support from Women Who Care is making a positive impact on some of our most vulnerable and underserved populations incarcerated at CCDC, and indirectly impacting the safety and well-being of their families and our community,” says Mindfulness in the Jail Program Coordinator Denise Ackert. “These funds will allow us to increase our outreach in the prison and support people as they return to our community.”

Chaffee County Women Who Care was founded in 2018. It provides women in our county with the opportunity to
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