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WHEREAS in the Spring Semester of 2009, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Charlee Brodsky partnered with Lydia's Place, a nonprofit social service agency, to teach a class that turned into a learning experience for all that were involved; and
WHEREAS Lydia's place is an organization that works with women who are transitioning back to their normal lives after being incarcerated. Their goals include helping recently released women to stabilize addiction, strengthen relationships with children, and make good decisions to become productive members of society; and
WHEREAS Professor Brodsky's photography classes, working with Lydia's Place, set out to study how photography could help female offenders in their recovery process and in their lives; and
WHEREAS through this project, women from Lydia's Place were able to connect with the students from CMU, learn about themselves, and tell their stories; and
WHEREAS through this project, students from CMU were able to connect with female offenders, and also learn about themselves; and
WHERAS Charlee Brodsky is committed to dealing with social issues through her work as both a photographer and as a professor.
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby wish to thank the following people, as well as everyone involved in the project.
Charlee Brodsky, Carnegie Mellon University
Vicki Sirockman, Executive Director of Lydia's Place
Carol Haley Smith, Director of Women's Programming for Lydia's Place
Megaen Reilly, Development Director, Lydia's Place
Roberta Schick, Case Manager, Lydia's Place
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council wishes to extend its support for Lydia's Place in correlation with CMU and their efforts to raise awareness of and encourage solutions to substance abuse and other factors that often lead to incarceration.