Breaking the Walls of Silence

the long version

The statistics are staggering: 20 percent of all women coming into the New York State prison system either have AIDS or are HIV positive. In response to this very real scenario, a group of inmates at the women's prison at Bedford Hills, New York, conceived of the ACE (AIDS Counseling and Education) Program, and against overwhelming odds made this groundbreaking project a reality. Breaking the Walls of Silence documents the ACE Program from its beginnings, recorded in the women's own voices, and it provides a series of nine education and counseling workshops that any community, family, or individual can use to break the silence that surrounds this deadly disease.