Tonier “Neen” Cain and Her Powerful Story
Tonier “Neen” Cain is a renowned expert on trauma-informed care. She also spent nearly two decades addicted to crack cocaine and in and out of the criminal justice system. For this Discussion, you consider her powerful story of recovery and consider the awareness her experiences can bring to care of women and trauma survivors.
TO PREPARE
Watch the video, “Healing Neen,” in the Learning Resources.
Reflect on the circumstances in Tonier “Neen” Cain’s life that contributed to her choices, criminal activity, and involvement in the criminal justice system.
Describe Neen’s relationship with her children and mother, drug activity, prostitution, and experiences with the criminal justice system.
Reflect on how the experiences for females in the criminal justice system are different from those of males. How was Neen’s experience uniquely female?
How might her experiences have been different if the criminal justice system had provided evidence-based treatment specifically for female offenders?
Peer Response to ‘Healing Neen’ Story
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Peer’s Post 1 Response
From Neen’s story, it is evident that most justice systems have not realized the power of evidence-based treatment for offenders, especially female offenders. Female offenders, as noted in Peer’s post 1, face more difficulties than men. Their children are likely to be put in foster homes or be taken by relatives, causing more trauma to mothers. Most women indulge in criminal activities due to traumas like rape and domestic violence, as seen in Neen’s case. For such a tortured soul, being incarcerated is not enough. It calls for identifying underlying causes and offering evidence-based treatment like trauma therapy that helped Neen come out of drug abuse after years of being incarcerated with no