Arc House
J. and J. Gray, OMPNA
During the Christmas season several years ago, while waiting for the traffic
light to turn at the intersection of East Johnson and North Paterson, we
suddenly noticed a group of women crossing the street in front of us. Each
one carried a bright, shiny, pink shopping bag from the Boston Store. The
residents of Arc House were returning from their Christmas shopping trip
to East Towne.
ARC House, which is located at 202 N. Paterson, is a "halfway house"
for adult women who have become involved with the criminal justice system.
It was established at its present location in 1976 by a group of persons
who wanted to serve women in need. Upon surveying the needs of women in
Madison, the group found that the neediest woman were those who were returning
to the community after spending time in jail.
According to Paulette Romashko, the program services director of Arc House,
women who have been in jail are a low risk, high need population. Most of
the residents of Arc House have been found guilty of property crimes such
as shoplifting, prostitution, and forgery. And most have resorted to these
crimes to support a drug or alcohol habit. The residents are at least eighteen
years of age; however most of the residents at any one time are thirty or
older. Ms. Romashko said that 85% of the women who have been residents
of Arc House were sexually abused early in life and are using drugs or alcohol
to deal with the pain in their life.
Arc House has twelve beds which are funded by the Department of Probation
and Parole for women who are returning to the community after being incarcerated.
An additional three beds are funded by the Division of Intensive Sanctions.
These last beds are for women who have committed a crime for which they
would normally be imprisoned. However, the threat to society from these
woman is deemed minimal and so rather than being sent to prison, they are
sent to Arc House for a period of time. The in-house program for Arc House
residents lasts from 3 to 4 months.
Upon entering Arc House, residents become involved in a highly structured,
highly supervised program of counseling, chemical dependency assessment
and education, vocational assessment, employment and/or educational placement
and support network development, all of which are designed to help the resident
gain the skills necessary for independent living. Necessarily, the resident
must follow a set of strict rules and guidelines and remain free of alcohol
and drugs while living at Arc House.
The first two weeks of residence are a probationary period and are spent
in the house working with staff, assessing the needs and skills of the resident
and developing a case plan for the resident. At the end of two weeks, if
the resident has not violated any of the house rules, she is allowed to
leave the house for short trips within the neighborhood, to look for a job,
and to use the phone.
The residents must get permission from the staff and sign out specifying
the expected time of return before leaving the premises. Residents, who
successfully manage these privileges without violating any rules, are gradually
granted more freedoms, such as extended day passes, weekend stay-overs for
children and weekend passes. An infringement of the rules always means a
loss of privileges with more serious infringements causing the loss of more
privileges.
One of the first tasks of the new resident of Arc House, after spending
the first two weeks developing a plan and becoming initiated to the workings
of Arc House, is to locate a job. Most residents of Arc House are unskilled
and many dropped out of school before graduating, so their employment is
limited to cleaning, fast food restaurants, and retail stores. Some residents
are able to earn a GED which increases their vocational opportunities. Gaining
employment is a big morale booster for the women. The money earned by each
woman is set aside and saved for future needs, such as the security deposit
on an apartment.
Since most of the women were alcohol and/or drug dependent before their
problems with the justice system began, an important aspect of the Arc House
program involves the assessment and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse.
Women receive individual and group counseling, attend AA meetings and are
randomly tested for drug and alcohol use at least once each week. Women
are also tested for drug and alcohol use after returning from a family visit
and may be called back to the house for a test during a weekend pass.
Due in large part to their previous addiction to drugs and alcohol, many
of the women are in poor health. A public health nurse does an initial assessment
of each resident, but subsequent health must be paid for privately or else
received from non-profit organizations such as Madison Community Health.
Asthma and dental problems are common among the residents of Arc House.
During the last four to six weeks of the Arc House program, residents move
into their own apartment so that they can become accustomed to living on
their own while still under the Arc House program. The successful resident
remains involved in the Arc House after care program which consists of attending
meetings and counseling sessions for six months following her residence.
At the end of the entire ten month treatment program, the woman is eligible
to graduate from Arc House provided she has been recommended by three members
of the staff. Ms. Romashko said that a majority of the residents graduate
having successfully learned to be "clean in the community". She
also told us that over 85% of those women who graduate from the program
return to the community and experience no further problems with the justice
system.
How can the residents of Arc House and the other members of our community
help each other? Arc House residents are always available and eager to take
part in community projects. If you need leafleters or helpers with a service
project, contact the staff of Arc House at 283-6430. On the other hand,
Arc House residents are always in need of clothing and household items for
the time when they are ready to move into their own apartment. Any donations
you wish to make may be left at Arc House, 202 N. Paterson.
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