According to the Pew Center on the States, 2.7 million U.S. children have a parent behind bars. Most face multiple challenges, ranging from extreme poverty to lack of a stable adult presence in their lives. Yet the country produces nowhere near 2.7 million volunteer mentors.
“A shortage of mentors is always the most difficult problem,” said Ann Adalist-Estrin, director of the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
Boys with incarcerated parents are especially hard to match. According to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, they constitute the vast majority on waiting lists, and only 30 percent of mentors for children of prisoners are men.
–G. Jeffrey MacDonald in the June 13, 2012, Christian Century, page 12
Our diocese provides summer camp every year for the children of prisoners. Everything is provided, free of charge, from transportation and meals to and from camp plus the camp itself. It’s an important outreach.
There is something EVERYONE can do to help these kids, though. It’s free of charge and only requires some kindness. Refrain from broadcasting and stereotyping statistics about the kids. You know the ones — the prognosticators that state the children of prisoners and single parents have a high likelihood of becoming criminals, addicts, and ne’er-do-wells. It’s hurtful to them and oftentimes provides the basis for a self-fulfilling prophecy. People may think that these sorts of discussions don’t reach the kids but they do.
I would suggest that those who concern themselves with the future of prisoners’ children by broadcasting the dire predictions spend time with these children, instead. As noted in this excerpt, there is a shortage of mentors because of the “bad seed” reputation and stereotypes. I taught at-risk kids and saw it go both ways — those who came to trust people and were able to open up to them became good students and got scholarships for college. Those who were so jaded and damaged by others’ stereotypes that they couldn’t trust and believe in a good future for themselves wound up on a bad path that did lead to prison. But that’s NOT inevitable.
Our diocese provides summer camp every year for the children of prisoners. Everything is provided, free of charge, from transportation and meals to and from camp plus the camp itself. It’s an important outreach.
There is something EVERYONE can do to help these kids, though. It’s free of charge and only requires some kindness. Refrain from broadcasting and stereotyping statistics about the kids. You know the ones — the prognosticators that state the children of prisoners and single parents have a high likelihood of becoming criminals, addicts, and ne’er-do-wells. It’s hurtful to them and oftentimes provides the basis for a self-fulfilling prophecy. People may think that these sorts of discussions don’t reach the kids but they do.
I would suggest that those who concern themselves with the future of prisoners’ children by broadcasting the dire predictions spend time with these children, instead. As noted in this excerpt, there is a shortage of mentors because of the “bad seed” reputation and stereotypes. I taught at-risk kids and saw it go both ways — those who came to trust people and were able to open up to them became good students and got scholarships for college. Those who were so jaded and damaged by others’ stereotypes that they couldn’t trust and believe in a good future for themselves wound up on a bad path that did lead to prison. But that’s NOT inevitable.
Wow — I have no idea how this was posted twice! Elves, could you delete one of them, please?