SWOP Behind Bars stories

Bad Girls of the Bible: The Samaritan Woman at the Well – The Outsider Who Spoke Truth

If you grew up in church, you probably remember the Samaritan woman from John 4—the one who meets Jesus at a well, has “five husbands,” and is living with a man who isn’t her husband. Cue the Sunday School whisper: immoral… loose… fallen.
For centuries, she’s been branded the small-town scandal, the woman with a past. The sermons practically write themselves: Don’t be like her, girls.
But here’s the kicker: the text itself never calls her sinful. Not once.

Bad Girls of the Bible: Mary Magdalene – The Woman Who Wasn’t What They Said She Was

When people hear the name Mary Magdalene, the mental Rolodex usually lands on one of three words: prostitute, fallen, sinner. For nearly two thousand years, her reputation has been dragged through the mud by pulpits, paintings, and pop culture.
Here’s the kicker: the Bible never calls her a prostitute. Not once.

A Season of Solidarity - What if Your Giving Ended Violence?

What if the power to end violence wasn’t locked inside a politician’s office or a police budget - but sitting right in your hands?
Giving Tuesday is here again, and everywhere you look, nonprofits are asking for support. But this year, we’re asking you to look deeper. To ask what kind of giving truly ends harm. Because not all “help” helps - and not all funding heals.

Change on Paper - Chains in Practice: A Practical Review of the November Fall Elections

The morning after the 2025 election feels a little like waking up after a storm - the sky’s clearer, but the debris is still everywhere. Democrats swept major races across the country last night, with Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City and strong showings in Virginia and New Jersey signaling that voters wanted a shift in tone.
But make no mistake - this wasn’t the change, just a change. The same systems that criminalize poverty, overpolice survival economies, and leave marginalized workers behind are still very much intact.

The Weaponization of Food

A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass a spending bill to fund federal operations. When that money freezes, so do the programs it supports - including SNAP and WIC.
This shutdown began on October 1, 2025, after Congress couldn’t agree on a budget.
For people like me, that means one thing:No benefits. No safety net. No food.
America loves to call itself the “land of opportunity,” but when you’re a disabled Black parent trying to keep three kids fed on one income, you learn quick: this country could not care less about its most vulnerable people.

Bad Girls of the Bible: Delilah – The Femme Fatale Who Took the Fall

When you hear the name Delilah, you probably picture the ultimate seductress - the sultry femme fatale who batted her eyelashes, whispered sweet nothings, and single-handedly brought down Israel’s strongest man. She’s been immortalized in art, sermons, and even pop songs as the woman who used her body to ruin a man.
But let’s slow this movie reel down. Is Delilah truly the villain of the story, or has history once again given us a woman flattened into the role of “temptress,” while the man’s faults get excused as “boys will be boys”?

From Surviving to Thriving: What Happens When You Fund Freedom

When you give to SWOP Behind Bars, you’re not just donating — you’re investing in someone’s comeback story. You’re helping people move from surviving to thriving: from waiting on a bunk in county jail to stability, from a DOC number to a driver’s license, from isolation to connection.
Every dollar that flows through our programs has a heartbeat attached.

Stripped of Promises: The Hidden Realities of Guam’s Exotic Dance Industry

Labor trafficking doesn’t always involve chains or cages. Sometimes it looks like contracts written in legalese, passports held just out of reach, or threats veiled as “rules.” It’s coercion in a cocktail dress. It’s violence dressed up as opportunity.
Whether it’s happening in a garment factory, a massage parlor, or a strip club - it’s still labor trafficking. The only variable is whose pain we believe, and whose we dismiss.