Ms D. was convicted of fraud and received a seven-year sentence. She herself admits that at some point she lost control of the situation. “I was overcharging debt with debt, I didn't know how to get out of it anymore,” narrates. For a long time, she lived in fear of when the police would ring. “When that happened, I told the officers that it was me who did it, and the verdict came with the onset... I was so relieved that it was over. No one believed it back then. “
He does not consider staying in prison easy. “Man is not himself there, he behaves differently to survive it. I didn't experience bullying there, but there were different women fighting there, yeah. So I just holed up in the bedroom and let them sort it out,” she says.
Yet he was important to her, to the realization that she never wanted to get into that situation again. From the beginning she worked, first in a workshop, later as a nurse, where she used her previous practice. Later, thanks to good results, she also got to work places with free movement outside the prison grounds, and finally she was able to drive home visits.
“I had freedom of movement, I went home every month for the weekend, then for more days. I had a low level of security, but that's not by itself, you have to work it out there,” he says.
However, in the course of serving her sentence, she was diagnosed with cancer. She underwent chemotherapy as well as several surgeries. The prison management, staff and medical staff treated her with the utmost friendliness and courtesy. Nowhere did she meet with condemnation. Through her ill health, she eventually applied for parole and the court granted her.
Life from scratch
After her release, she had nowhere to go. The home did not exist, the marriage still fell apart in the course of the performance, so did the relationships with the children.
“When they let me out of prison, I threw away the key to the canal house. Symbolically. There was nowhere to go back. “
She started completely from scratch. All she had was a plastic bag with which she left the prison gate. She stayed at a friend's house for the first two months, later at a hostel where she slept on a fishing chair. With the help of charities and a Christian fellowship, she quickly got back on her feet, secured normal housing and found employment as a saleswoman. She got lucky on the people around her.
“I always told everyone that I came from serving a sentence. No one condemned me. And that's the most important thing. Have at least one person who accepts you that you can talk to. “
New life role - grandmother to maternal
Upon her release, she learned that she would have a grandchild. However, her daughter was heavily addicted to both drugs and alcohol at the time. “I've seen her a couple of times completely covered up. It was clear that the baby boy was going to be taken away from her,” she recalls. Although she was undergoing treatment and had surgeries, she knew she wanted to take care of her grandchild. So she asked for custody.
“I couldn't live with the idea of him ending up in a children's home. “
After birth, the baby boy was placed in transitional foster care for about a year. And she drove to see him every weekend, as her health allowed. When her stable state of health as well as trouble-free behavior was demonstrated, he was entrusted to her.
Equipping a household for a small child was not easy, but other moms, neighbors, and friends helped. “We don't have luxury, we have older things, but we have it clean, pretty. And most importantly, we have each other. “ The only essential thing the little family lacked was the comfy, fold-out couch that Mrs. D. sleeps on. The old one was already falling apart and it was definitely not possible to spend the night on it. Thanks to the generous contribution from Jitka Chizzola, we were able to obtain it. Every year he donates 100 thousand crowns to support children and families who do not have it easy. Ms. D. is a client of the Probation and Mediation Service, and it was the probation officer who connected us and secured this assistance.
It is the three-year-old grandchild and the people around her that keep her not only afloat, but also in ensuring that no other similar overstep takes place.
“What am I most proud of in my life? “he ponders. “I was able to accept responsibility. And that I can live a proper life again. Now I just wish that health would last, I could continue to look after the grandchild and he was happy. “
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Gabriela Slováková získala 1. místo na Women Changing the World Awards
Jsme velmi hrdí, že naše zakladatelka, Gabriela Slováková, získala 1. místo v mezinárodní platformě Women Changing the World Awards v rámci Global Impact Award. Tato platforma spojuje, oceňuje a podporuje ženy s odvahou měnit svět k lepšímu. Toto ocenění je potvrzením její více než dvacetileté práce v oblasti vězeňství, odvahy otevírat těžká témata a vytrvalosti při prosazování modernějších postupů v rámci spravedlnosti.
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Gabriela Slováková's new book is almost here...
There really isn't a mistake in the headline. Gabriela publishes a book full of interviews with women who have undergone punishment, within the publishing house Nastole Media. What will you find in it? Strong stories (not only) from behind the walls of the prison in Světlá nad Sázavou from her time as director. Why did they find themselves here? How do some of them live today, after many years since release? Was their path to a better life straight or did they look behind the prison gates again? How did they manage this life test? And can they find in their life stories the common reasons that put them behind bars?
The book is due out on May 14, 2026. Follow us so you don't miss a better price in pre-sale.
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When you are tied to a heater as a child, can you grow up to be a person who has respect and life?
In the winter months, neither we nor our ambassadors were shrouded. Bára Černošková spoke about Yellow Ribbon several times, for example in a podcast Katerina Osičková's Bubbles.
You can also listen to it in CharitAlk, where he talks in even more detail about how the execution of the sentence affects the loved ones of the convict, his family and, above all, children, who are often invisible victims of the actions of their parents.
If you prefer to read, take a look at Květy Magazinewhere you can find a great conversation with Bara. Among other things, you will learn how she got to work at Charles University.
Last year, Bára also published In Her Place, a book about women who have succeeded in the world of men at first sight. The very first interview belongs to our founder, Gabriela Slováková. The book was published in Albatros Media and you can find it in every bookstore.