Mackenzie while visiting with her mother Alyssa Yarnell in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since Alyssa graduated a drug rehabilitation program, Mackenzie visits on weekends when her father allows. When Alyssa left for the program, she told Mackenzie she had made bad choices and was going there to learn how to make better ones, to be a better mom and a better person.
Alyssa Yarnell swims with her daughter Mackenzie at her apartment in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After she was released from jail in 2017, Alyssa began Women in Recovery, a rehabilitation program for women with non-violent, drug-related sentences in Oklahoma. "I had let my daughter down enough," Alyssa said of her decision to enter the program.
Inmates at Dick Conners Correctional Facility dress in robes for their graduation ceremony. More than 40 men graduated with a degree or certificate from Tulsa Community College's Corrections Education Program.
Mackenzie's drawing for her mom
Alyssa is a chemical dependency tech at 12 and 12, a rehabilitation facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She says this has been her dream job since she went through detox here herself.
Crystal Kirk placed a photo of her mother, Amber Kirk, above her bed in Mulvane, Kansas. Her mother is in Mabel Bassett Correctional Center serving a life sentence for drug-related charges while Crystal and her siblings live with their grandmother.
Deborah Hansard speaks to her daughter Amber Kirk from the Mabel Basset Correctional Facility, three hours from her home in Mulvane, Kansas. Deborah has been raising her three grandkids on her own since Amber's incarceration.
The Muddy Paws re-entry program teaches dog grooming to incarcerated women in Tulsa, Oklahoma, often securing jobs for participants upon release. Here, family members attend a graduation ceremony for those who completed the program.
Lindsay McAteer and her son Talon in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Lindsay was in forms of addiction for 20 years, but said things became unbearable when she started using meth. She achieved sobriety while in Women in Recovery. “I was lucky Talon was so young when I found recovery, so he’s never really had to see me in that condition," she said. "Now he was a healthy mom who puts him first.”
Alicia Forbit gets ready to visit her husband Chris Forbit at Dick Conners Correctional Facility in Hominy, Oklahoma. Soon they will sit across from one another at a table in the waiting room they were married in 2 years ago. Alicia says that their relationship is not contained to this room. She keeps a bluetooth headset on as she waits for his calls and writes him every day. .
An anniversary card Chris made Alicia while he was in prison.
Alicia Forbit swims in the Arkansas river after visiting her husband Chris in prison.
Alyssa and Maddie talk to Chris on his birthday. The two prepared his favorite meal for the two of them and made a birthday cake of vending machine food at their next visit with him.
An in-progress love letter from Alicia to Chris.
Shaunte Gordon, her mother Carolyn Williams, and daughter Angelina Gordon Edwards and her granddaughter Adalynn Garrick open Christmas together in August. Shaunte, left, lost contact with her daughter Angelina when Shaunte was incarcerated at 15. Angelina entered foster care and was adopted, but the family was reunited three years ago through Facebook.
Carolyn Williams and her great-granddaughter Adalynn Garrick show off their matching braids at Carolyn's home in Claremore, Oklahoma. Carolyn says she spent most of her life running from abusive partners and coping with a drug addiction that ultimately sent her to prison, where she was separated from her children and grandchildren. Three years ago, Carolyn and Addie were able to meet for the first time. "With Addie, the cycle has been broken," Carolyn said.
Alyssa, 11, runs ahead of her mother at their apartment complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, April Pless, recently graduated from Women in Recovery, a rehabilitation program that serves as an alternative for long, drug-related sentences. Alyssa moved in with her mother again shortly after April's graduation from the program and just before Alyssa started middle school.