Kevin Davis met Eric Spruth the same way most journalists meet a new friend: by writing a story about him. Davis, author of a nonfiction novel about the Cook County public defender’s office, encountered Spruth seven years ago at a conference on criminal justice.
At the time, Spruth was an art therapist in the department of mental health services at the Cook County jail, a sprawling facility in Chicago that caters to more than 10,000 inmates at any given time.
Spruth was gathering resources for new program intended to help mentally ill prisoners express themselves through journaling. Davis hammered out a quick article on Spruth for the now-defunct CityTalk magazine — and then found himself volunteering to help launch the program, dubbed Finding Your Voice.
“I just thought what they were doing there was so cool and really valuable,” Davis recalls. “I offered to volunteer my experience as a writer.”
Inmates must get approval to enroll in the voluntary eight-week program. Spruth, who has a master’s degree in art therapy and is registered with the American Art Therapy Association, then leads the attendees through different writing exercises. Volunteers like Davis contribute time and expertise to coach the participants through the process.
The results offer a rare window into the lives of Chicago’s mentally ill, a population that is often criminalized because no other recourse for treatment exists. Their handwritten stories tell of heartache and hope in the face of adversity.
“I think the name ‘Finding Your Voice’ says it all,” says Davis, who has volunteered a few nights a week for the past six years. “These are people who, for most of their lives, haven’t been listened to. Almost every time that I go there and teach this class, I’m always moved in some way. I leave there thinking that I’m taking away more than I brought in.”
The inmates’ articles span a variety of topics, many related to past events or lives on the fringe of society. Davis relates one particularly moving story from the early days of the program: a celebrated, honorably discharged veteran penned an essay about encountering the body of a dead enemy soldier in Vietnam.
“It was this really poignant and visceral story that brought a lot of tears to the eyes of the people in that room,” he affirms. “This was something he had never written about before.”
It’s difficult to obtain clearance to publish the collected articles, but a handful of journals have been self-published by the inmates under the title Voices Within.
“It was a big thing for these guys to see their names published in a journal,” Davis says. “It gave these guys a real sense of accomplishment.”
Voices Within is free and available upon request. For a digital copy or to learn about volunteer opportunities, email Eric Spruth or call 773-869-5651.
— Patrick W. Rollens