Rochester Business Journal

The staff and volunteers of Step by Step of Rochester Inc. facilitate workshops that help women in prison or jail to change their lives. The organization's mission also extends to women who have been released from correctional facilities or are at risk of incarceration.

The workshops provide a structured environment in which women can reflect on their lives, understand what caused their imprisonment and learn to make better choices. Step by Step programs have served more than 4,000 women in the Monroe County Jail and the state's Albion Correctional Facility.

A study by the state Department of Correctional Services determined that the three-year recidivism rate for Step by Step participants at Albion was 20.3 percent, one-third lower than the rate of 30.7 percent for the state's female prison population as a whole.

Step by Step workshops emphasize women telling their personal stories within a group and focusing on their strengths rather than on problems. The heart of the program is an eight-week workshop called "Live Your Dreams," in which each participant names a personal dream and identifies the fears she must overcome to realize it.

Other workshops include "Let Your Light Shine," in which women consider negative images they have of themselves and how they can overcome those images; "The Tree," in which women read a story called "The Tree That Survived the Winter" and consider what they have survived and who has helped them; and "Claiming the Power of Our Voices," in which they learn to speak out for social justice and against violence.

"Mothering from Prison," a 22-session workshop offered twice a week at Albion, examines women's experiences as children, which often include abuse or neglect, and then helps them become better parents. Topics include child development, discipline, effects on children when mothers are incarcerated and issues that may develop when they return to their families.

Step by Step has six employees and two AmeriCorps workers. Patricia Merle is executive director, focusing on administration, and shares leadership responsibility with Margaret Mayk, co-executive director, who focuses on presenting workshops and on development. They co-founded Step by Step in 1992.

The office is at 228 S. Plymouth Ave., and the Web site is www.stepbysteprochester.org.

Financial record Year ending Sept. 30, 2008 
Revenue %
Contracts $77,708 38
Donations 67,345 33
Grants 37,700 18
United Way of Greater Rochester 9,326 5
Support from organizations 6,785 3
Fundraisers 5,379 3
Other 431 less than 1
Total revenue $204,674 100

Expenses %
Payroll $131,715 68
Rent and utilities 13,014 7
Office, telephone, postage 10,862 6
Payroll services and taxes 10,804 6
Medical insurance 8,140 4
Legal and accounting services 4,986 3
Printing 3,219 2
Disability and worker's compensation 2,778 1
Travel and meals 2,664 1
Liability insurance 1,666 1
Other 5,089 3
Total expenses $192,705 100
Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses $11,969

Board of Directors

• Stephen Jones, chairman; partner, Nixon Peabody LLP
• Sister Kathleen Ann Kolb, vice chairwoman; member, Sisters of Mercy of Rochester
• Jacqueline Lee, treasurer; senior manager, Mengel Metzger Barr & Co. LLP
• Rita Metras, secretary; principal, RDM Associates
• Jack Simpson Bailey; employment counsel, Eastman Kodak Co.
• Gary Fitch Jr.; financial adviser, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
• Peter Koch; owner, Peter Koch Chrysler Dodge Jeep
• Margaret Mayk; co-executive director, Step by Step of Rochester
• Patricia McCarthy; retired deputy state comptroller for municipal affairs
• Leann Patel; instructor in clinical nursing, the University of Rochester, and lecturer in nursing, Nazareth College of Rochester
• Elizabeth Schnucker; vice president, Schnucker Packaging Inc.
• Sheila Soehner; senior substrate planner, Hammer Packaging Corp.
• William Watson; freelance writer
• Jennifer Williams; CPA, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

-Researched by James Leunk10/23/09 (c) 2009 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303.