Meet Vicki Helgesen | Prison minister and reentry specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vicki Helgesen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vicki, what makes you happy? Why?
True happiness is seeing the women we have met over the years succeed in reentry. These women have become my heroes. I love seeing the way they have overcome society’s cruelness and in spite of it have gone on to walk in freedom.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Leaving The Cocoon is a 501c3 non-profit. It was established to assist women inside prison and then follow them upon release. When I first started going to prison, I saw women returning…like a revolving door. My mentor told me they needed personal mentorship. When I started small by mentoring the women, I saw they did not return. I recruited others to join me. Within a few years, TDOC (TN Dept. of Corrections) saw our results. LTC was making a difference in the ones who came through our program. I was approached by TDOC to become the official mentoring program for the women’s annex reentry program. Twenty years later we have less than 10% of our women returning to prison.

As female Executive Director is was not an easy task. I wasn’t taken seriously. Others thought we were a group of women who developed friendships with the women in prison and upon release took them to lunch. While that is true to a degree, we are so much more. We taught these women cognitive skills and led them to a changed life. We taught her she was NOT what she was told all her life. She learned her worth is wrapped up in Jesus and how He sees her. We follow her on the outside as she gets back her children. We guided her as she established an employment history. We followed her to addiction classes and helped guide her to sobriety.

I’ve learned there is good in everyone. Unfortunately society will now let her forget her past. She is forever branded felon. In other words…her freedom is denied even though she has paid for her past mistakes and deserves a second chance. I would love our society to see these women they way we do…heroes!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Franklin, TN is a charming old town. I would enjoy showing them some of our history. We have the Carter House (Union headquarters) and Carnton Mansion (Confederate Headquarters) just a few miles apart. We need to learn from history how not to act. It is a sad commentary that brothers fought. We could take a picnic and ride on the Natchez Trail. Breakfast at Loveless Cafe is always a treat. Downtown Nashville has many features which include many music places, Country Music Museum, tours of the stars, tours of the history of Nashville, etc. I personally love the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson. While in that area visit the lakes and state parks. Just riding through the hills and seeing the beauty of Middle TN.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Helen Cox was my personal mentor. She was a wealth of information. She taught me the characteristics needed to help guide the women I meet. There have been many times when I wished she was still around to ask my questions.

Website: www.leavingthecocoon.net