Fabiana Melendez Ruiz
I joined Women’s Storybook Project because I believe in redemption. Incarcerated women deserve a chance to connect with their children, and supporting literacy is a powerful way to do that.
Our Mission
Connecting children with their incarcerated moms through the joy of literature
Turning Pages
Children with incarcerated parents haven’t committed a crime. They are a vulnerable population who are often overlooked and forgotten. Keeping in contact can be difficult from prison as offenders may be held long distances from their families. Those that maintain contact are up to 6 times less likely to return to prison.
Turning Lives
I have two daughters who absolutely love their books. It has been a blessing to be able to be a part of this program. It has made me real in their little lives once again.” Women’s Storybook Project (WSP) enables families to reconnect through the simple act of reading a story.
Women’s Storybook Project – A Women’s Prison Program
Reading Behind Bars
Women’s Storybook Project of Texas (WSP) is a women’s prison program that connects children with their incarcerated mothers through the joy of literature. The primary goal of WSP is to reduce the rate of re-incarceration among incarcerated mothers by strengthening the mother-child connection through literature. This literature project requires volunteers to travel to Texas female prisons to record incarcerated mothers as they read stories to their children.
These recordings provide a chance for children to hear their mother’s voice while they are away. Connecting the children and mothers helps provide a reason for the mothers to work hard not to return to prison.
Dear whoever gets this note, please let my mom keep reading the books to me, one more thing: I love hearing her voice.
- Cameron
Thanks for helping us be better mothers to our children. So many have just written us off.
- A Storybook mom
The lives of female offenders and their children benefit from The Storybook Project! Ms. Judith and all the volunteers inspire me to do all I can to make a difference in female offender programs as well. Thank you Story Book, thank you!
- Lori Davis, Director of Correctional Institutions Division, TDCJ
Our Impact 2003-2023
21,046
Mothers who recorded stories
46,801
Books/ Recording Mailed to Children
72,596
Volunteer Hours
759
Active Volunteers
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Latest News & Events
Sarah Ivory
Serving on the board of the Women’s Storybook Project has been a deeply personal and meaningful experience for me, both as an educator and as a mother. Having spent my
Carolyn Patterson
Louise Fry “I love being a part of WSP. I’m touched every time I go to the prisons and work with the moms. Being a former teacher of kids that had parents
