Nonprofit head connecting with female Luzerne County prison inmates

As part of her nonprofit’s mission to empower women, Linda Loop was determined to connect with female inmates at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre.

Loop, founder and CEO of Dress for Success Luzerne County, convinced prison officials to contact her whenever a female was being released so the nonprofit could meet the women as they emerged from the Water Street facility to provide a suitcase or travel bag with some clothing and necessities.

To help others visualize the need, she describes a woman released in the winter with only the shorts, tank top and flip flops she wore upon incarceration in the summer.

While this service continues, Loop still wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to start helping the women before they were released.

Prison officials agreed she could meet with inmates, preferably on Saturdays. Although weekdays would have been easier for Loop, she carved out time to hold “Saturdays for Success” workshops every other week.

Loop keeps it light, with lessons and self-discovery exercises mixed in with games. The inmates call her “Miss Linda,” and sessions are usually at the 15-person capacity, she said.

Now that they got to know and trust Loop, the women are more likely to visit Dress for Success when they are released to receive help with career clothing and guidance for job interviews and other essentials of a job search, she said. This could include assistance obtaining an identification card.

“It’s a clean, safe and well-lit place that is very welcoming for them to come,” she said of the Dress for Success property at 38 W. Market St. “We can talk about issues they may have and help fill other needs.”

The Saturday sessions resulted in another discovery that the enthusiastic Loop describes as a “breakthrough.” The inmates started confiding their frustration with the prison library, saying it mostly consisted of legal books and old romance novels.

Loop said she worked with county officials to launch a Dress for Success program providing books for delivery to the prison, with the first shipment arriving in August.

The nonprofit purchased $1,000 in books and is working with two public libraries on obtaining additional ones for the prison.

She noted her organization cannot accept public donations of books because it does not have the resources to dispose of those that do not meet requirements or program intent.

Through her efforts, the prison library now has self-help books and popular fiction, with some tailored for inmates at less proficient reading levels.

She’s also stocking them up with classic literature and throwing in some puzzle books and Spanish language books for those who don’t read English.

Variety is a goal, and Loop said she was informed some inmates were excited to see the arrival of new books.

“We already heard from the prison librarian that he feels there will be a lot less trouble because they are more engaged with the books,” Loop said.

Always open to evolving situations, the book program already sparked her interest in another upcoming plan to set up an adult literacy program to help inmates improve their reading skills.

Her intent is to help with reentry while the women are “still inside” because there is so much pressure.

She estimates inmates leaving the prison have about 30 seconds to “make a decision that will change your life.”

“When you get to that jail door, you will either go the direction that got you there — typically involving drugs and alcohol — or go the other way and change your life,” she said.