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| Indiana Inmates Taste Freedom by Tickling Funny Bones |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 08/12/2002 |
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They never walk beyond the heavy steel doors and razor fences of the Indiana Women's Prison. The days are long, and there's little opportunity to interact with the other 400 or so inmates -- some of them violent offenders. They live at a prison where several officers have been suspended amid allegations that inmates were forced into sex acts. But 12 inmates say heavy makeup, wigs and clothing pieced from scraps of material offer them a momentary escape from their lives' structure and monotony. Being part of the prison's clown ministry whisks them away from the everyday routine, the sameness, and gives them a chance to feel better about their troubled lives. 'Clowning is a way for these women to regain a little innocence,' said Hazel Lewis, 51, of Lafayette, a volunteer clown who works with the inmates. 'For those few minutes they are with us each month, they are free. They are in their own little world, and some of their cares and worries fall away.' The inmates were chosen to be a part of Heart Charmers, a chapter of the Smiles Unlimited Universal Clown Ministry that started in the prison in 1990. They are trained by clowns from other central Indiana chapters of the outreach ministry, founded by the late Don 'Ski' Berkoski. The Valparaiso-based Smiles Unlimited has trained more than 5,000 volunteers for public-service work with young, old, disabled and disadvantaged Hoosiers. The chapter at the Women's Prison is the only one in an Indiana correctional facility, said James Hendrix, the prison's assistant superintendent. And, he added, it's been a success. The monthly meetings are monitored by prison staff. Volunteers are not allowed to enter or leave the prison in costume, and inmates may put on costumes and full makeup only for special occasions. Several times a year, the inmates put their clowning skills to work inside the prison's walls. Recently, they entertained the children and grandchildren of other inmates participating in a day camp that is part of the prison's Family Preservation Program. |
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