VOICESOFHOPE: A Prison Documentary

Last June I drove across the country in my 2008 Honda Accord and my two Labs, not really knowing what would lie ahead...


My husband started Command Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and my daughter and I explored the midwestern state of Missouri and Kansas!  We were officially in The Wizard of OZ territory.  We embraced it and took pictures of a yellowbrick road and pictures of dorothy sprinkled throughout kansas city and posted them on instagram. and even on snapchat as we skipped along a yellow brick road! (okay it was at Legends, an outlet complex with Coach, Ann Taylor and a Brooks Brothers but hey we blocked it out and pretended we were in Emerald City)

I also explored ways to grow professionally as a freelance videographer, and as a photographer.

I decided to join several networking organizations including Toastmasters Internatinal to hone my public speaking skills. And all I CAN SAY, IT IS CHALLENGING ME MORE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD....AT LANSING PRISON, IN LANSING, KANSAS.  

I was asked to volunteer there to help a group of inmates explore the art of public speaking.  I initially was frightened to be completely honest. My heart skipped a few beats when I entered the prison for the first time. However, after spending several weeks there, I realized I was actually learning more from this group of men.  Sure I gave them comments about their speeches, but what I heard from them was so much more profound.   I was in prison and I experienced something not many do outside of prison. And a common theme in their speeches began to take shape - a message of hope.  Their stories need to be told. 

One of the Volunteers Cathy Svacina, the VP of the Kansas City Film Festival, approached me about filming a documentary about Lansing Prisons' "educational programs."  Initially, I hesitated for obvious reasons. I was unsure about filming long hours at a prison.....But again,  as I learned more about the inmates, their testimonies about changes they've made, and their transformations, I felt compelled to tell their story - their story of hope. 

The goal of my documentary is to show how people can indeed become undone and end up PRISON. However, when in the right environment, (yes even in prison) these same people can experience a metamorphosis.

Below is a more formal description of the goal of our documentary. 

FORMAL DESCRIPTION of the Documentary:
The Toastmaster’s International Organization has had a major impact on Lansing Prison inmates. As volunteers, we have seen the profound effects of the program, as inmates have shared life-changing, life-altering anecdotes.  Amazingly, inmates attest over and over again, that Toastmasters was at the heart of their transformation.  Collectively, the members have formed a community within the prison that has given them new direction. This program has truly provided a forum in which inmates are able to have a successful re-entry into society.

The intent of this documentary is to elucidate the general public the positive effects of the Toastmasters International Organization at Lansing Prison in cooperation with the Brother’s in Blue program - a Spiritual program which has also had a major impact on the inmates' lives. Further, we will show that inmates ARE capable of rehabilitation and in the identified positive arena, inmates can and will transform. In fact, they can flourish and thrive and ultimately become productive citizens in, and eventually outside of the four walls of prison.

This documentary will inform the public about the inmate’s transformation, and will show the positive effects of their active participation in the Toastmasters International Organization.  Specifically, the following positive outcomes will be identified:

1. Education – improved literacy skills

2. Emotional intelligence – emotional health improvement

3. Professional development skills, (i.e. working collaboratively, and with minimal conflict)

4. Advancement towards reintegration. (Reintegration success)

I hope you can support our production. The funds will primarily go to the prison's Toastmaster's Organization and the Brother's in Blue Program  - to sustain them. They receive no government funds for these programs. A portion of the funds would go to help produce this documentary and to help with the dissemination and submission  to several film festivals across the country including the kansas city film festival.