PRESS RELEASE
April 25, 2023
For immediate release
Media Contact: Cara Scarola Hansen
Counseling Center for Children Public Relations Advisor
cara@votremissionmarketing.com
561-632-6747
Fritzi Horstman discusses childhood trauma related to the prison population: “See people for who they are, not what they did.
The Center for Child Counseling’s series on fighting ACEs continues alongside National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Second Chance Month.
Fritzi Horstman, founder and executive director of the Compassionate Prison Projectinsisted on seeing people “for who they are, not for what they did” in his presentation during the third part of his 2023 Lead the fight series on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Hosted by Eugenia Millender, Ph.D., RN, Chairman of the Center’s Board of Directors, the event gathered virtually mover 200 community members and leaders from around the world to deal with negative childhood experiences (ACE) and childhood trauma in relation to the prison population.
The event was held jointly with both National Child Abuse Prevention Month And second chance month–acknowledging the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect AND acknowledging the need to create a meaningful second chance for the millions of people who re-enter society after incarceration each year.
As a nurse scientist, Dr. Millender is co-founder and co-director of the Florida State University Center for Population Sciences for Health Equity and associate professor at the FSU College of Nursing. She investigates stress, trauma, and mental health disparities among underserved populations using the principles of community-engaged and community-led research. In his opening remarks, Millender presented data relating to the impact of the prison population on Palm Beach County in 2022. 44,782 arrests were made and 1,088 people were admitted to the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC), ranking PBC seventh out of 67 counties in number of FDC admissions. About 1,100 people were released from the FDC and returned to the PBC.
Palm Beach County is a microcosm of what is happening nationwide. Horstman believes it is imperative that we address chronic mental health issues in prison with common sense, compassion and urgency. Compassion Prison Project is an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities, bringing responsibility and creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons.
In 2020, Horstman achieved “Enter the circleat California State Prison, Los Angeles County, with 235 men incarcerated. The video is a call to recognize the physical, emotional and social impact that ACEs have had on society and to highlight the importance of care – not punishment – going forward in the prison system.
ACEs without intervention predict various adverse health effects. For example, an individual with four or more ACEs is seven times more likely to go to jail. According to trauma and addictions expert Dr. Gabor Maté, who has worked with Horstman on numerous projects, “When you study prison populations, you see a preponderance of childhood trauma and mental illness. The two go together. So what we have in prisons are the most traumatized people in our society. »
Through the Compassion Prison Project, Horstman and his team call for change within the prison system, restoring the human dignity of prisoners and healing their trauma with understanding, compassion and love.
“If punishment worked, there would be no prisons, because most of the children who ended up in prison were all punished, all destroyed. They were physically, emotionally, sexually abused, neglected, told they were nothing. So it’s a punishment. They have already been punished. Violence for a violent act does not work. The only thing that works is love. The only thing that changes anything is love.
With 95% of our nation’s incarcerated men and women eventually returning home, Horstman recognizes the need to rebuild lives through awareness, self-love, and self-care. His goal is to give them purpose and direction and make them turn things around while they sit in their cells. When incarcerated people are eventually released, they should be cured and hopefully make a positive contribution to society and reduce the recidivism rate.
Horstman gave the example of working with child molesters: “They’re going to go home one day, so if they’re not in good shape, if they don’t feel human… they’re going to carry on. It’s my job to make sure, it should be every person’s job in the prison to make sure these men are fit to go home.
She emphasized enforcing accountability and the harm done by those incarcerated, but “if I’m being punished for everything I’ve done in the past, then I can’t move forward.” When speaking with prisoners, Horstman aims to take their victimization out of the equation and empower them to change their vision and purpose for being in prison to one with purpose and hope.
“When I go into prisons, what happens is I start to see people for who they are and not for what they’ve done. Because if you look at what they’ve done… you step back. But when you look at who they are, you see their magnificence.
In his closing thoughts, Horstman quoted Bob Kerrey, “”Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least expensive, and most underrated agent of human change. “”
Following Horstman’s presentation, Dr. Millender called on attendees to join the fight against ACEs by pledging to take action: become aware and informed of ACEs through training; investing in early childhood development; join the Centre’s new giving circle; or send letters and information provided by the Center to policy makers urging them to drive positive change.
Children’s Aid Center, in conjunction with Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2017, developed ‘Lead the Fight’ in 2016 to educate system leaders about addressing childhood adversity through advocacy and action. In 2021, the event was transformed into a series of virtual actions in response to the pandemic and the urgent need to advance policies and practices that support children’s mental health and resilience. Virtual conversations continued in 2022.
Jhe Lead the Fight 2023 series continues with monthly conversations and events through June, featuring nationally and internationally renowned experts on a variety of topics. More information and registration for the next event will soon be available at www.centerforchildcounseling.org/leadthefight.
Partnership sponsors leading the fight to make these important and necessary roundtables possible include: The Palm Beach Breakers and Kathy Leone, The Hanley Foundation, The Haley FoundationJulie Fisher Cummings and the Lovelight Foundation, SageView Advisory Group, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, Bank of the First Republic, Lighthouse Art Center, Premier Pediatrics, The travel institute, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Stephens & Stevens, Marriage and Family Law.
The Center one The Fighting ACEs initiative to build trauma-informed communities is made possible through the generous support of quantum foundation, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Countiesand private donors.
About Fritzi Horstman:
Fritzi Horstman is the founder and executive director of the Compassionate Prison Project (CPP) an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities, bringing responsibility and creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons.
Horstman is a Grammy-winning producer for her work on “The Defiant Ones”, has served as a producer and post-producer on dozens of television projects and documentaries, and has directed several films. She believes there is an urgent need to bring humanity and compassion to those living behind bars and these acts will help transform our society. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College.
About the Children’s Advice Center:
Children’s counseling center has been laying the foundation for a playful, healthy and hopeful life for children and families in Palm Beach County since 1999. Its services focus on preventing and healing the effects of negative experiences and toxic stress on children, promoting resilience and healthy relationships with family, school and community. Since October 2022, KidSafe Foundation now operates under the Children’s Counseling Center as the two entities are now stronger together in their education and prevention of child sexual abuse and trauma.
www.centerforchildcounseling.org Twitter: Facebook @ChildCounselPBC: @CenterforChildCounseling Instagram: @pbc
PIC ID:
Fritzi HostFounder and Executive Director of Compassion Prison Project
Eugenie Millender, Ph.D., RN, Lead the Fight event emcee; Chairman of the Board of the Center for Child Counseling; co-founder and co-director of the Florida State University Center for Population Sciences for Health Equity; associate professor at FSU College of Nursing
Click here to see the press release.
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