Initial conversations with women in jail assisted in the development of the founding principles to guide the program priorities. The majority of the women met and interviewed were survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and/or child abuse, as well as police brutality and sexual exploitation, medical neglect, and denial of access to food and shelter. Power Inside’s peer based support group began as an all-volunteer project in May 2001 inside the Baltimore City Detention Center. The intent of Power Inside was to facilitate access to a range of community-based resources prior to their release from jail or prison. The program’s approach is to listen to each woman’s story and her assessment of her needs, strengths, and goals. The program’s goal is have the ability to offer a continuum of support that is accessible to women as they cycle through jail back to the street or to prison. In the jail, generally women are met for the first time while they are in the Baltimore City jail. In the community, Power Inside maintains a drop-in-center for women transitioning to the community after prison and jail. On the street, Power Inside community health outreach workers provide services directly on the streets, offering peer counseling, hygiene supplies, condoms, blankets, crisis intervention, and emergency housing. Power Inside recognizes the mother-child connection as fundamental to the health and healing of families. In addition, young incarcerated women have complex life experiences (abuse, street violence, drugs and alcohol, poverty, and community instability) that place them at particular risk. Power Inside offers a support group to young women, ages 16 to 25 at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. Power Inside is faced with many challenges. Its future will be determined by the ability to build capacity, secure funding, and successfully articulate the needs of women. References