About The Red Tent Women’s Initiative - The Red Tent Women’s Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides incarcerated women in the Pinellas County Jail skills to heal and improve their lives through trauma-informed programs. Qualified Red Tent instructors use research-based techniques to help these women implement positive coping skills to address issues such as unresolved trauma, addiction, and socioeconomic disadvantage. Through our program, these women are prepared to build better lives for themselves and their children, avoiding a return to jail and ultimately making our communities safer. Program History Red Tent was founded in 2012 by Barbara Rhode, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. Red Tent was inspired by Barbara’s clinical practice experiences while working for Goodwill’s Work Release Program given the tragic increase of female inmates. The number of women incarcerated has increased 700% since 1990 and now outpaces men 2:1. No less than 1/3 of the inmates behind bars in the Pinellas County Jail are female (approximately 800-900 women are incarcerated) and 80% of them are mothers of young children. To date, Red Tent has served over 1000 women inside the jail and in the City of St. Petersburg. In 2012, Barbara started volunteering at the Pinellas County Jail (PCJ) and within 6 months created a program for women inmates focused on trauma resolution and empowerment. Initially self-funded, she hired a part time teacher and a group facilitator to work 2 days per week, 4 hours a day with 15 female inmates. The PCJ provided a room, chairs, tables and sewing machines. Red Tent officially started. The program is now in its 9th year, with the Sheriff’s office funding the group facilitator, a part time case manager and part time sewing instructor to assist the women as they prepare for release. In 2017, with the help of the Sheriff’s office, Red Tent increased its class meetings from 2 to 3 days per week. During class, participants and staff share their stories, wisdom, hope, and pain fulfilling the tending and befriending instinct, which has been supported through research as the way women are best able to deal with stress, especially the aftereffects of trauma. The women work with their hands as part of the trauma informed programing to release oxytocin from the brain which is an important ingredient to resolving trauma. Barbara interpreted working with the hands through sewing and needlework. They also participate in trauma recovery groups, stress reduction exercises, and mindfulness trainings. Where We Are Now Throughout COVID-19 RTWI has been fortunate enough to take a step back and conduct thorough research surrounding our previous curriculum and the data collections of our program. We believe this will be a key piece to our overall vision aimed at serving woman in numerous counties in Florida and beyond. As part of our expansion, we are currently in discussions to provide services for Diversion, via Mitigation Advocacy and Treatment Diversionary Programs.