When addressing the collateral consequences of incarceration, there is very little When addressing the collateral consequences of incarceration, there is very little attention paid to the traumatic impact of the experience of incarceration, and the effect that it has on successful reconnection with family and the community upon release. This workshop will explore the prevalence of pre-incarceration trauma; individual and institutional trauma that is experienced while incarcerated; incarceration as trauma; and the impact that these experiences have on currently and formerly incarcerated people. Themes of isolation, disconnection, institutional betrayal, and healing will be explored through the presenter’s art and storytelling. Further, this workshop will address the implications that the trauma of incarceration has on therapeutic dynamics, relationships that incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people have with service providers, and the impact that it has on how formerly incarcerated people are able to move through the world. Participants in this workshop can expect active discussion and workshop activities addressing trauma, healing, and worldview.

Moe Whitcomb (they/them/theirs) attended the New York State University at Albany and received a Bachelor of Arts in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Sociology in 2011. They have also engaged in graduate work in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Mental Health Counseling. Currently, Moe is a sexual assault counselor working with incarcerated victims/survivors of sexual violence. Prior to working as a counselor, Moe worked with incarcerated parents and their children and has assisted people incarcerated in New York State prisons with legal issues related to their confinement. Moe is the communication chair for the Justice Studies Association and is an executive board member of the New York Civil Liberties Union Capital Region Chapter. They are also an artist and writer working to shed light on social injustice and address their own trauma and healing.