The people in our jails and prisons are just that. People.
Sometimes we forget that the people we incarcerate are just that, people. They are our friends, neighbors, and family members. When we lock them up we take away their ability to contribute. The damage we cause goes far beyond one individual’s life. Children lose parents. Employers lose workers. Our community loses trust.
About the speaker
Carrie Blumert is a public health professional with a desire to reform our criminal justice system and engage more young people and women in local government.
Before getting elected as County Commissioner for District 1, she worked for the Oklahoma City County Health Department for 5 years, managing health care partnerships and community based prevention programs.
Prior to her time at City County Health, Carrie worked for Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma and the OU Department of Behavioral Pediatrics. She has a Masters in Public Health from the OU Health Sciences Center and a Bachelor's in Child and Family Services from OSU. She graduated from Bartlesville High School and is the first person in her family to be elected to public office.
Carrie spent the majority of her campaign for County Commissioner knocking on thousands of doors in her district, listening to voters, and educating the public on ways a County Commissioner can improve the community.
Her district covers central and northeast Oklahoma City, Spencer, Midwest City, Del City, Jones, Luther, Forrest Park and Lake Aluma.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
I think we have some really awesome people... and they have very good intentions, and I think we are going to see some really good changes because of our Jail Trust.
My goal today is to humanize the people involved in our justice system. They are just like you and me.
I'm sure that everyone in this room has engaged in some type of activity that could have gotten you thrown in jail, and we just happened to not get caught.
Poetic Justice is a program here in Oklahoma, started by a woman named Ellen Stackable, and she goes into jails and prisons, and works with women, and teaches them how to write . . . poetry.
Sometimes we forget that the people we incarcerate are just that; they're people. They are our friends, our neighbors, and our family members. When we lock them up, we take away their ability to contribute to the world.
Photos from this talk See all
Hosted by
The Yale Theater
227 SW 25th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States 73109
Date
Partners
The Yale Theater
Roast Scout
KLLR Coffee
Guernsey
Clover Partners
The Treasury
Photographer Christian Sangree
Videographer Les Wu
