tarrier

“We do not want any survivors to think that they do not have resources available to them and they should not seek out help if they need it,” said Chase Tarrier, public policy coordinator at End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin.

“It’s countering the idea that people who end up in prison, who made a mistake or a bad decision, that they deserve for us to lock them up and throw away the key,” said Tarrier, an editor and writer who has taught writing courses at Graterford for Villanova University.

Tarrier and Butler, along with composer Emily Cooley, a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and Eppchez Yes, a musician and theater artist, drive an hour to reach the high, barbed-wire-trimmed walls and then wait, sometimes more than an hour, to be admitted.

The collaborative process is important, Tarrier said.

August Tarrier, who founded the program with Butler last fall, says the goal is artistic, with a side of advocacy.