BELCHERTOWN — Amid the season of college graduations, seven women graduated Tuesday from the Eastern Hampshire District Court Probation Office’s Womanhood Program.
While the women received a certificate of achievement and not a diploma, the same sense of pride and accomplishment filled the courtroom as it does at a college graduation ceremony.
Chief Probation Officer Bob Ryan said that for these women, completing the 10-week program was no small feat.
“You all have every reason to be just as proud of your accomplishments as people graduating from a four-year college,” Ryan said. “It is a significant accomplishment which will serve as a springboard for additional accomplishments in the course of your lives.”
The program, started by Probation Officer Gina Sanderson, educates women coming off probation on the topics of substance abuse, domestic violence, anger management, self-defense, self-care, art therapy, resume writing and job search skills. In addition to providing information and resources, the program fosters a community of positivity and hope for women who come from similar backgrounds. Since its start in the spring of 2015, 72 women have graduated from the program.
“It is a phenomenal group of women here. Each one is an individual, but they all have a tremendous desire for change,” Sanderson said. “They came to class ready to learn.”
Not even a tornado warning deterred the women from coming to class one week.
Friends and family of the graduates gathered among program instructors, court clerks, police officers, state legislators and representatives from the Northwestern district attorney’s office to celebrate the women’s accomplishments and listen to a keynote address given by Kathy Picard, author of “Life with My Idiot Family.”
As a victim of sexual abuse from the age of 7 to 17, Picard spoke on how she ultimately received justice after being told not to speak out about the abuse for so many years.
“I couldn’t change what had happened to me, so I decided to do everything I could to make sure victims of childhood sexual assault could receive justice,” she said.
Picard was a leading force in extending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault cases, reaching out to every senator and representative in the state. Ultimately, on Sept. 21, 2006, Picard watched former Gov. Deval Patrick sign into law a new statute of limitations for criminal childhood sexual abuse cases.
Now, an adult abused as a child has until age 43 in criminal cases and age 53 in civil cases to report their abuse. Right after the bill was passed, Picard called her attorney and began the lawsuit against her abuser. Thirty years after the abuse had ended, she successfully sued her assailant in civil court and won.
Picard explained that she looks at her life like a book — the first part was written by other people, but she wrote the second part.
“There’s a point in our stories where we can decide to start writing them ourselves. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to,” she said.
She told the graduates that by completing the Womanhood program, they have already begun writing the next chapter in their lives.
“Each of you have the right to be proud of yourself for completing this program,” she said. “You finished what you started. It’s easier to come up with excuses to quit than reasons to keep going.”
Carrie Clark, a graduate from the program, emphasized how special it was to be a part of a community of women who had similar experiences as her.
She said that she will stay in contact with the women she has met. “It’s nice to be able to talk to people who get it.”
Another graduate, Samantha Gouvan, said she has gained a greater sense of self-worth from this experience and has learned skills that she will take with her as she moves forward in her life.
“This program was awesome. I feel so grateful to have been a part of it,” she said.