Women’s Walk August 2017: Keep Women Out of Prison

Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, 8:30 a.m.

2101 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, IA

Gray’s Lake Terrace

The first annual Women’s Walk, put on by Crossroads of Iowa, will take place this year on Saturday, August 26 at 8:30 a.m., Gray’s Lake Terrace. It’s a relaxed, family-friendly 2-mile walk around Gray’s Lake. Everyone — including dogs — is invited to participate. There will also be music, refreshments, books for sale and a drawing.

T-shirt pick-up will take place at Gray’s Lake Terrace on the same day at 8 a.m. Click here for online registration. You can find out more information by visiting our website or watching our promotional video. Please contact Ruth Hardin at ruth.crossroads@gmail.com or call 515-633-7968 with any questions.

As of January 2017, fewer than 5 percent of the incarcerated women who have attended Crossroads of Iowa’s classes have returned to jail, and fewer than 3 percent have experienced homelessness or unsafe living conditions.

Not only do we do what we do to help women in jail. We do this to help everyone, including you. The annual cost for one Polk County inmate is $21,915 a year — funded by taxpayers.

Since 2012, Crossroads of Iowa has offered classes, support groups, and workshops for inmates, recovering addicts, mental health professionals and the general public. We are organizing a Women’s Walk in order to raise funds for a new program we’d like to implement for the women in correctional settings across Iowa. The program has been proven incredibly effective in West Des Moines and internationally; its goal is to reduce the likelihood that these women will reoffend due to drug use once they get out of jail. For this program, we need to hire an instructor, a therapist and acquire class materials. This is what the funds from the Women’s Walk will go towards.

Support programs giving women a second chance. Come walk with us!