Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1214157
69 MARCH 2020 Top, Marion B. Davis, (far left) is the executive director of Self Esteem Boston. Bottom, Self Esteem Boston partners with YWCA Northeastern Massachusetts. Jane Sutter, a pretrial reentry resource liaison for the Essex County Sheriff 's Department, initiated the Self Esteem Boston programs at WIT with Cynthia DeLeon, reintegration coordinator there. Sutter says life hasn't been easy for most of the women they work with. Many have been raped and beaten; they might have experienced prostitution and abusive pimps. Their self-worth is low, if it exists at all. That starts to change when the women go through the Self Esteem Boston programs, which Sutter calls "magical to watch." Participants not only laugh, cry, talk, break down walls, and feel empowered, but also express their amazement and happiness that they're even capable of having such an experience. "There are a lot of cathartic tears, laughter ; there's a sense of camaraderie. The women are for each other, instead of against each other. There's healing," Sutter says. "It works from the inside out. It helps them realize they have worth." Self Esteem Boston has been doing this work for decades, and in that time, it has helped more than 85,000 service providers, individuals, and families. The work is important, life-changing, and ongoing. "Self-esteem is not a daily vitamin or pill," Davis says. "It's something that takes time, and you have to do it all the time, not just when you're in recovery."