This story originally aired on January 13, 2018.
When Seattle Police Officer Kim Bogucki stepped into the Washington Correctional Facility For Women in Purdy about 10 years ago, she had no intention of starting a non-profit.
Bogucki was doing gang prevention work and went to the prison to ask some of the women for permission to work with their children. The women were distrustful of police and gave Bogucki a chilly reception.
“Probably the last time that those mothers saw police, we were taking them away from their children,” said Bogucki.
But then, as it often does, one conversation led to another and the women began to tell their stories to this officer of the law. As Bogucki was leaving, she threw out one last question to the women: If something could have changed your path, what would it have been?
In this story, we’ll tell you how this simple question opened a door onto a troubled past that often holds the answers on how to heal and move forward.
A documentary about The If Project will screen in Seattle in March, at the The Egyptian Theater.
