We are just a few days away from Mother’s Day. It can be a complicated day for many, perhaps especially so for the more than 66 per cent of incarcerated women in prison who are mothers.

In today’s episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient in honour of Mother’s Day, we look at the fastest growing prison population in Canada – racialized women. Many of these women are also mothers, and experts connect the trend in incarcerated mothers to rising poverty and the attempts to cope with it.

A few years back, Canadian feminist sociologist Sarita Srivastava (who is my sister), the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science at OCADU, wrote an article for The Conversation suggesting we “reclaim the original intent of Mother’s Day,” as “a collective call to action.” Instead of putting your money toward a greeting card, she wrote, consider supporting a mother in jail and contributing to a Mother’s Day bail-out campaign near you.

In this episode, two experts speak intimately about the impact of incarceration on mothers. Lorraine Pinnock is the coordinator for a prison education project — and a formerly incarcerated mother. Rai Reese also joins us: she is a feminist sociologist at Toronto Metropolitan University and has spent years looking at carceral systems in Canada.

Also today:

• Democrats need to make the U.S. Constitution work for them as the 2024 election looms
• For postpartum moms, playing team sports boosted well-being and helped manage unrealistic expectations of motherhood
• We can uphold the solidarity created by COVID-19 even though WHO ended the international emergency
• Toxic chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products remain in our bodies and environments for a very, very long time
• Older people who are homeless need better access to hospice and palliative care

All the best.