CHICAGO — August 27, 2013 — The Staff and Board of Directors of Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM) are proud to announce that CLAIM Founder and Senior Policy Consultant, Gail T. Smith, will be honored on October 2 from 4-8 PM at the Chicago Cultural Center. CLAIM will also establish the Gail Smith Policy Fund to ensure the continuation of CLAIM's policy and advocacy work. The benefit will feature special guest speaker Michelle Hurst, a cast member of the hit show Orange is the New Black.
The benefit will take place from 4-8 PM on October 2 at the Chicago Cultural Center. The first half of the event will take place from 4-5:45 PM and be free and open to the public. It will feature an educational program in the Claudia Cassidy Theater led by Dr. Beth Richie, Ph.D. The program will be followed by a cocktail reception from 6-8 PM featuring live jazz from the Lucy Smith Quartet, a celebratory video highlighting Gail's legacy and CLAIM's 28-year history, and special guest speaker Michelle Hurst. To purchase tickets, please visit claimhonorsgailsmith.brownpapertickets.com .
Gail has devoted her legal career to improving the lives of incarcerated mothers. In 1985, she founded CLAIM with the dual purpose of providing legal representation to low-income incarcerated mothers and also advocating policy changes to reduce or eliminate incarceration for non-violent offenders.
Gail's passion for CLAIM has made her a powerful advocate for incarcerated mothers. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the Illinois Senate, the Illinois House of Representatives, the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women, and the Illinois Citizens Assembly Council.
Gail was also instrumental in lobbying for and drafting the legislation to ban the practice of shackling incarcerated women during pregnancy and labor. This practice is known to be harmful to both mother and child. Illinois became the first state in the U.S. to ban the practice in 2000.
Gail's expertise has been part of the local and national dialogue on the impact of incarcerated parents on the children. On June 12 of this year, Gail was honored at the White House as a Children of Incarcerated Parents Initiative Champion of Change. In addition, Gail received the Impact Award on March 15, 2012 from the Chicago Foundation for Women for her work to end the practice of shackling.
Highlights of Gail's leadership include:
-Writing and championing legislation to ban the use of shackles on pregnant women. Thanks to Gail's efforts, Illinois was the first state to ban the practice of shackling during labor.
-Convening the Illinois Task Force for Children of Prisoners, Children of Promise, which won improvements including a children's visiting center at Cook County Jail.
-Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the Illinois General Assembly, and the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
-Receiving the Impact Award from Chicago Foundation for Women in 2012, the National Organization for Women-Chicago Chapter's 2011 Women Who Dared award, and the 2005 YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago's Racial Justice Award.
-Promoting community alternatives to prison for parents charged with nonviolent offenses to keep parents and children together.
-Working to reduce termination of parental rights and to promote restorative justice practices.
CLAIM is excited to honor Gail Smith for her important contributions, not only to CLAIM's founding, but also for the improvement in the lives of prisoners and strengthening the parent-child relationship between incarcerated parents and their children.
The Benefit will take place on October 2 of this year from 4-8PM at the Chicago Cultural Center. Tickets for the cocktail reception can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets at the link below: claimhonorsgailsmith.brownpapertickets.com
For more information about CLAIM, please visit our website and Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/ChicagoLegalAdvocacyForIncarceratedMothers .
www.claim-il.org .
