She'd been "holding drugs for someone," and "like many of those we see in CLTL, got caught up with the wrong crowd," said Kennedy.
Kathleen Aguero, a professor at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, has facilitated more than fifteen CLTL programs for women in Boston over the past eight years.
While Aguero has never taught a men's CLTL class, she has attended one.
Wendi Kaufman, who facilitates a CLTL group for teenage girls in Fairfax, Virginia, uses writing exercises to promote discussion.
She appreciates the fact that while CLTL aims for high standards, it is flexible: there is no one size-fits-all-courts model.
Most CLTL programs hold their graduation ceremonies in the courtroom: thus, a site of terrible experiences is transformed into one of success.
For more information about Changing Lives Through Literature, see Finding a Voice (2005) co-authored by Robert Waxier and me, which tells the story of fifteen years of CLTL.