Delores Beeler-Resonance and Force

By: Courtney Stone

In October of 1977, she was a troubled 16-year-old, clutching a blue suitcase and waiting at a bus station, determined to get away from her alcoholic father and change her life by joining Job Corps.

But few months later, she had changed course and married the son of one of Tulsa's biggest drug dealers. She quickly discovered the easy cash flow of selling illicit substances. In spite of hating needles, she waded further into the drug lifestyle and became addicted to methamphetamine.

In December of 1989, she pressed a needle into her arm and prayed to God to help her stop. Help arrived in the form of police officers kicking down her door and arresting her. A judge sentenced her to four simultaneous twenty-four year sentences, and Delores changed from a drug dealer into an incarcerated woman.

At first, she was angry at losing her children, her freedom, and her hope. She believed that she had nothing. However, as time passed while she served her sentence, she noticed a group of bright, intelligent female inmates who were part of a group that visited schools and spoke to students. In order to participate, one had to have good behavior, so she made that her goal. She joined the prison's debate team, took classes, and found her voice and self-confidence. Instead of looking up to a select group of women, she became a role model for fellow inmates, and her reputation spread throughout women's prisons as she was transferred.

In 1999, Delores was released from prison. She began working at an advertising agency, a job she attained with the assistance of Resonance, an organization that assists women facing difficulties in their lives. For four years, she worked her way up from sweeping floors and cleaning bathrooms to become a research assistant, a satisfying career that gave her exciting travel opportunities. Then a new path opened to her; Penny Painter of Resonance informed her about a job opening with the organization. It was a new kind of opportunity that would allow Delores to make a difference and change the lives of other women, just as she had been transformed. Contrary to her fears of not being hired, she got the job and became an important part of Resonance.

Two years later, Penny presented another opportunity for making changes – assembling a group of formerly incarcerated women who had succeeded in life after prison and becoming a voice for all female felons. To Delores, this meant that someone acknowledged and valued the opinions of formerly incarcerated women. She joined with other successful women like herself to create FORCE: Female Offenders Recovering, Conquering, and Educating. The group's purpose was to confront the difficult issues women face after being released from prison, such as discriminatory housing, difficulty in finding good jobs to support their families, a lack of voting rights, and re-entering the role of being a parent.

Today, FORCE is not only a voice for female felons; it is also a support group where women can rant, laugh, and cry together. They have common experiences, and they understand each other in ways a counselor cannot. They challenge the preconceived notions that many people have about felons being just brutal murderers. Delores often surprises people when she tells them that she is a former felon. Her professional demeanor seems incompatible with that fact, and that helps change the perceptions of others. Furthermore, the women of FORCE stand as strong, empowered women, not pitiful, suffering females. They hope to win voting rights for former felons, to meet challenges as they arise, and to support each other in friendship for the rest of their lives.

Delores Beeler has faced many changes throughout her life, transforming from a runaway teen into a drug-dealing mother, then a convicted felon, and finally a role model, leader, and advocate for women. With the help of Resonance, she overcame her past and found a new future as a leader in FORCE, a group that assists other female felons in succeeding after serving their time by offering support and fighting for policy changes.

The Women's Foundation of Oklahoma has given its support to FORCE in the form of a grant, which will be used to hire a policy advocate. This will give the women of FORCE a means of sharing information, establishing political connections, and garnering support for their causes, particularly the issue of voting rights. For Delores, the grant is not just money, but a symbol of respect and an indication that someone believes that FORCE can make a difference in the lives of Oklahoma's formerly incarcerated women.