In 2008, Seattle Police Department (SPD) Detective Kim Bogucki traveled to the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) after becoming partner with Girl Scouts Beyond Bars as part of the SPD Youth Outreach Unit. Kim wanted to explain to the Scouts’ incarcerated mothers why a police officer was meeting with their children. She also wanted to assure the parents that that the police would not disparage them to their daughters. Kim hoped her visit would start to build trust among the parents, children, and the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars organization.

On her initial visit to WCCW, Kim asked the following question:

“If there was something someone could have said or done to change the path that led you here,
what would it have been?”

One of the mothers, Renata Abramson, began asking others at WCCW to write their responses to the “IF question.” And when Kim returned for a follow-up meeting a few weeks later, Renata handed her 25 essays. Neither Kim nor the writers knew at the time that this question would lead to a unique national model of collaboration between law enforcement and incarcerated individuals to help people in prison and at-risk youth take a more positive path.

OUR VISION: We envision a world without mass incarceration and the impacts it creates. A world where our communities provide pathways to equitable opportunities, where we are all valued, and are free to explore who we want to become.