TEEM Oklahoma City

he Education and Employment Ministry is an organization dedicated to breaking cycles of incarceration through education, personal development, and work readiness training.

Oklahoma has the highest female incarceration rate in the world, and, for each woman incarcerated, the impact extends far beyond a sentencing period. Incarceration continues to create financial, personal, and professional barriers that severely impact a person’s ability to get back on their feet again. This creates cycles of incarceration and poverty that hold back generations and entire communities.

Higher levels of education are correlated with lower recidivism risk. Incarcerated women at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center experienced no recidivism upon their release if they took two college-level courses while incarcerated. Unfortunately, the cost of college courses is unattainable for the vast majority of incarcerated women.

Sarkeys Foundation awarded TEEM with a $50,000 grant to provide a scholarship program that would allow recipients at Mable Bassett to take college-level courses, vastly improving their post-release success rate and quality of life.

Kastner assists a student in the TEEM/Sarkeys Hope Behind Bars Scholarship initiative with a homework assignment at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. The Hope Behind Bars Scholarship provides opportunities for women who reside at the facility to gain access to higher education and enroll in college courses. TEEM employees and volunteers facilitate weekly study groups to support scholarship recipients in achieving their academic goals.