Melissa McKee, formerly of Lewis County, spoke on behalf of the IF Project at a Thursday night American Association of University Women.
A program with its roots in Seattle meant to combat incarceration and recidivism rates is poised to start making a difference in Thurston County in late 2019 — and from there program officials hope its services will trickle south.
The IF Project works to provide beneficial resources and mentorship programs to inmates and juveniles, and has been the subject of a full-length documentary.
Melissa McKee, a former Lewis County resident who spent 11 years in prison on a second-degree murder charge, spoke to the Lewis County branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Thursday evening, to advocate for the program — one that she said had impacted her in a positive way while she was incarcerated, and has helped her to straighten her path forward, she said.
McKee said The IF Project began with a simple question. In 2008, a Seattle detective met with a group of incarcerated women and asked them a relatively simple question that provoked profound results.
“She asked simply if there was something somebody could have said or done that might have changed the path that led you to where you are now,” said McKee.
One of the women in the group was particularly struck by the question, and began to compile answers. When the detective returned to the group, there was a stack of answers waiting for her.
Many of the answers stated that the inmate lacked someone to guide them — someone to correct them when they started to stray. This interaction sparked an initiate that would become The IF Project.
“If we could start to look at the forces that were happening in people’s lives prior to the moment that they commit crimes, if we could start to reach children or young adults or people who were just getting ready to step onto that path, perhaps there could be a change,” said McKee.
With her address to the AAUW zeroing in on incarceration rates among women, McKee provided some somber statistics. U.S. women make of 30 percent of the world’s prison population, she said, adding that since 1980 the number of incarcerated women has shot up 700 percent.
The top four causes of criminality in women, she said, are unhealthy relationships, chemical dependency, economic marginalization and anxious depression symptoms.
With stats like that providing inspiration for The IF Project, McKee said that the program has evolved into a wellness programs, self-care programs, workshops, reentry and mentorships programs.
Inmates who get involved with the program and are then released have struck up mentoring relationships with kids in juvenile centers, where they have found success getting through to kids like no others have, said McKee.
More recently, she’s been working to bring The IF Project and its many programs to Thurston County facilities. A fundraiser made it possible to get the program off the ground, and she said they have a target start time in late 2019. From there, she said, they would like to see the project move south into Lewis County.
