BAMBI UPDATE
By: Tiel Rainelli, WSP Programs Coordinator
BAMBI (Babies and Mothers Bonding Initiative), a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) program housed at the Santa Maria Hostel in Houston, offers women who are pregnant in prison the rare experience to be with their child for 12 to 24 months (during their incarceration), fostering a strong, early bond during a critical developmental time. Mothers receive child development education, life skills, infant first aid and CPR, nutrition, peer recovery, cognitive skills, anger management and family reunification sessions. In collaboration with BAMBI, the Women’s Storybook Project (WSP), provides six three-hour sessions led by dedicated volunteers, the initiative focuses on literacy development in infants and encourages mothers to support literacy with their children at home by recording mothers reading to their children at home and/or in unit.
Each WSP session includes an opening and closing circle to build culture and trust, creating a supportive community among the mothers. Song is also employed , mothers and babies engage in singing nursery rhymes, which soothes the infants while building vocabulary and supporting the literacy lessons. With babies present throughout, the program enables mothers to actively participate in their children’s lives, promoting emotional well-being and family connection. Many mothers report this as one of the best programs they experience, eagerly looking forward to reading with their children upon returning home.