A Note from Founder, Barbara Rhode
 

Red Tent has been such an important part of my life since I started it in 2012 and the ripple effects of what we have been doing can often catch me by surprise.  Before COVID changed our lives in so many challenging ways, I had the opportunity to attend a community meeting for Red Tent.

At the end of the meeting a teenager walked up to me and shyly said that she thought I might know her mother. When we shook hands to introduce ourselves, I could see that she had tears in her eyes. She quickly explained that her mom had been in Red Tent in the jail back in 2015 and she cried when she told me that it made such a huge difference in her mom’s life and in hers.  She told me that her mom had been an addict throughout her childhood and now she said, beaming, “I have my mom for the first time in my life and she is healthy and not using drugs ever since Red Tent came into her life”.  

We hugged and cried together. I treasure those moments and I don’t think life can get much better than that.
 

What’s better than ONE Red Tent class at the Pinellas County Jail?  TWO Red Tent classes at the Pinellas County Jail.  

Thanks to the support of the jail, Red Tent has been given the green light to double our impact and conduct a second ongoing class. With successful fundraising, we hope to begin this new class in Feb. 2021.  This means that twice as many women will experience the positive impact of the Red Tent class which includes healing and improving their lives, reducing recidivism and allowing families to stay together.  Plus as a tax payer, fewer of your dollars go to paying the incarceration costs.  Everyone wins.

If you donate to Red Tent (and we sure appreciate it if you do) your money supports this second class.  Doesn’t it feel good to make a difference?  A DONATE button is below.