School Support Groups
Free groups at partner schools include support for students experiencing loss related to incarceration. Learn about school groups.
Community Support
Grief Support for Incarcerated Oklahomans
Recognizing loss, creating connection and supporting people experiencing grief while detained.
The program's beginnings
Calm Waters began providing free grief support groups at the Oklahoma County Jail in January 2023. The original program brought together people experiencing death, separation from children, relationship loss, or grief related to the loss of freedom and the life they knew before incarceration.
Developed in collaboration with jail program staff, the program uses a custom Calm Waters curriculum. The original format offered groups divided by gender, meeting for one hour each week over a nine-week series.
Current schedules and availability are coordinated through jail program staff. Participants register through the jail, not through a public website form.
Understanding, trust and coping skills
With help from TEEM, Calm Waters recruited facilitators with lived experience of incarceration. The original program emphasized trust and emotional safety, with facilitators completing Calm Waters grief training before leading the custom curriculum.
The program also included grief workshops for larger groups, offering information about coping skills, healing from loss and living with grief. A 2022 United Way WayFinder Innovation Grant from the United Way of Central Oklahoma supported the program's development.
Support for families affected by incarceration
The incarceration of a loved one can bring grief to children and adults outside the jail, too. Calm Waters has support options for families navigating this kind of separation.
Individual & Family Counseling
Private counseling can help individuals, couples and families work through grief related to a loved one's incarceration. Most insurance plans are accepted and a sliding scale is available. Explore counseling.
Questions about family support? Call 405-841-4800.