. . . uniting families . . . Fall 2013 Childhood Favorite Encourages Conversation About Children of Incarcerated Parents © 2013 Sesame Workshop. Photo by Gil Vaknin Our Children’s Place was the Action for Children (http://www.ncchild.org/) guest blogger on August 16. Here’s the piece we wrote: For many of us (and our children), the colorful characters of Sesame Street (who’s your favorite?) and their human companions helped us learn our numbers and letters in English and Spanish, taught us to be good friends, and encouraged us to use our imaginations, among other things. In more recent years the folks at Sesame Street have addressed the difficult subjects of deployment, death, and bullying. This summer they added a new initiative, one addressing a topic that affects at least 21,000 children in our state: parental incarceration. On a DVD that’s part of the Sesame Workshop tool kit (www.sesamestreet.org/incarceration), Alex, a new Muppet, shares a bit with his friends about his father being incarcerated. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, in early March 5,124 inmates (4,629 male, 495 female) identified themselves as parents with a total of 21,507 minor children. When Our Children’s Place gives out that statistic at community events we always add a footnote because we know it’s more than likely low. It doesn’t include situations where an inmate doesn’t disclose having children (for a variety of reasons) or where a parent is in jail, another state system, or the federal system. Our Children’s Place Note: North Carolina isn’t one of the pilot states for this new initiative, but if you’d like to learn more, go to the Sesame Workshop website, sesamestreet.org/incarceration, or contact us at [email protected] or (919) 904-4286. A 2010 Pew Research Center (www.pewresearch.org) report shows that 2.7 million children in the United States have at least one parent in prison or jail. That works out to 1 in 28 children. And yet data collection is just one of many concerns when it comes to the issue of parental incarceration. Who is caring for these children? Where do they live? Are the caregivers being provided the support and resources they need? SAVE THE DATE! After taking two years off, our Hats Off to the Kids! celebration is back on the calendar. What do the relationships between children and their incarcerated parents look like? Do the children know the truth? Is the incarceration a family secret, with shame and stigma attached? Are there people in children’s lives who support the relationship? How do we even define what the relationship looks like? Does it include visits, phone calls, letters? And what about those situations where it isn’t safe for children to have a relationship, where a court has said the parent can’t see his/her children? Is there someone in the children’s lives willing to explain the situation and answer difficult questions? This year’s event will be a tribute to Ellie Kinnaird and her work to create and support Our Children’s Place. Sunday, 12/1/13 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill Sponsorship opportunities are available! Please contact us if you’re interested. (919) 904-4268; [email protected] Are the people in a child’s life outside the family – teachers and school staff, faith community leaders, coaches, etc. – aware of the situation and able to offer support? Look for more details coming soon. Someone pointed out just recently that we have developed a decent community response to the “3 Ds” in a child’s life – divorce, death, and deployment. Of course we are continually fine tuning our responses as we learn more. But parental incarceration continues to be one of the issues ignored. As a result, children and families can feel overlooked, vulnerable, and without a voice. Mothers of Bedford Continues to Raise Awareness Our Children’s Place screened the documentary Mothers of Bedford at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in mid-May. Chris Blue, Our Children’s Place Board Vice Chair, served as the event MC. The documentary looks at the effects of a longterm prison sentence on the mother-child relationship and what’s being done at the Bedford Hills facility in New York. The film was screened for the first time in North Carolina at Meredith College in February. If Alex and his Sesame Street friends can talk about this, then we as a community not only have permission to have the conversation at a local and state level here in North Carolina, we have a responsibility to do so. (2) Our Children’s Place May Presented one workshop and co-presented a second at “Can You Heal Me Now? Symposium on Trauma and Youth of Color” Our thanks go out to the following:    Lauren Davis and Daniel Gillis at the Botanical Garden for their help before the event and the day of Carolina Catering for the tasty afternoon treats Our wonderful sponsors: o Mary and Mike Andrews o Anonymous o Florence and Jim Peacock o Rebecca Slifkin and Rich Rosen o Katie Wakeford and Gregg Cusick o Walmart Made a presentation as part of a panel at the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) 12th Annual Social Equity Leadership Conference We were also pleased to be part of conversations with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) about making children and families part of the re-entry planning process and with our new contact at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS) about efforts that could be put in place to support county social services agencies as they work with families with an incarcerated parent. We’re excited to see where those conversations lead and the possible role for Our Children’s Place. Thanks also to Tonja Fultz and her co-workers at Project Re-entry in Winston-Salem for partnering with Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina to screen the film in early May. Thanks to both DPS and DHHS for the invitation to speak at their meetings/conference calls this summer. Upcoming  Facilitating a five-session pre-release course at the Orange Correctional Center  Presenting (with long-time supporter Cathie Fogel) two workshops at the North Carolina School Nurse conference  Presenting at a monthly meeting of the Chatham/Orange Guardian ad Litems (GALs)  Presenting (with Jim Stuit from the Criminal Justice Resource Center in Durham) several sessions to Durham Public School staff members Life at Our Children’s Place Since we published our spring newsletter we have been involved in a number of awareness and advocacy activities, with additional ones planned for the next few months. Late March Hosted three brown bag lunches on the UNCChapel Hill campus Please “like” us on Facebook. We’re trying to post more regular update on our activities. Go to https://www.facebook.com/OurChildrensPlace NC. April Presented a workshop at the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs annual conference We’re always interested in opportunities to speak. If you belong to a group that might be interested, please call or e-mail us at (919) 904-4286 or [email protected]. (3) Our Children’s Place National Advisory Board of the Ackland Art Museum at UNC-Chapel Hill and assists numerous non-profits with their fundraising and special projects. Did You Know . . . When asked why she decided to join the Board, Shirley wrote, “First as an Advisory Board member, I was honored to be asked to be part of the Our Children’s Place board. Temporarily my college major was criminal justice, diverted by my father who wisely noted when I came home uncontrollably sobbing from my first local women’s correctional center visit that it may not be, at that time, the best career path for me. That empathy, however, has remained with me all my life. If you’ve ever seen the Mothers of Bedford film, or visited a prison, or participated in a family day at a correctional facility, you know the necessity of OCP. It is essential, and a privilege, to serve those voices that too often go unheard.” Since mid-February 2012, we have:    presented 13 workshops* to 398 professionals made 11 presentations to 264 community members staffed three resource tables , not including hats tables Thanks to your interest and support we are able to continue raising awareness about children of incarcerated parents and advocating for changes necessary to meet their needs. * including our February 2012 symposium Much Appreciation to the Stone Center Playing Musical Chairs Moving day on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus started a bit early this summer as we closed our office at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History in mid-July. If you look at our Board and Advisory Board lists on the last page of this newsletter you may notice that some moving around has taken place. First, the Advisory Board: We appreciate all that the Stone Center staff and other building tenants did over the past six years to make us feel welcome. We’ll miss being there. We were sad to learn that Jean Anoff, an early Board member and more recent Advisory Board member, passed away several months ago. She was a wonderful, outspoken advocate for women and children through her work at various agencies in North Carolina. She will be missed. As the result of our move, our new phone is (919) 904-4286. Both Jenn and Melissa are currently working from home. Please let us know if you are aware of any great office space opportunities. While Bert Peterson may have completed his term at the end of June, he knows we’ll come find him when we need a good sounding board and important insight! Welcome! We were pleased to welcome Shirley Drechsel to our Board of Directors this spring. We know we’re among a large group of Patti Thorp supporters who were sad to see her leave North Carolina this summer. We’re jealous of her new community! A financial advisor rooted in socially responsible investing since 1984, she has been an active part of the community since her arrival here from Illinois 30 years ago. She currently sits on the (4) Our Children’s Place Shirley Drechsel and Rich Rosen have moved from the Advisory Board. To learn more about Shirley, see page 4. Rich is a former Board member who has been a consistent and invaluable resource for staff and Board members alike. perfect example of the not-so-secret Our Children’s Place secret that once we get folks involved, we don’t let go! True, roles may change, people may take a break and come back, hours committed may vary, but people stay involved. I started out with Our Children’s Place in 2007, when I was chosen to be the architect for the Deerfield Cottage renovation project. One main reason I was chosen was my long time relationship (both volunteer and architectural) with Interact of Wake, a domestic violence services provider based in Raleigh. During the renovation of Interact’s facility, I came to know the incredible feeling of doing something I am passionate about (architecture) while giving back to my community. I remain very proud of my work on projects with a social conscience that make a real difference in people’s lives. This was one of many reasons I was so very thrilled to become a part of the Our Children’s Place family. Now, the Board of Directors: Alice Bordsen has moved from the Board to the Advisory Board. We’ll continue to rely on her political experience regardless of where she fits on our organizational chart. Three Board members – Dorothy Cilenti, Karen Chapple, and Mary Stowe - completed their Board terms at the end of June. Dorothy has moved to the Advisory Board. Just to make sure she didn’t have too much time on her hands this summer, we involved her in writing a grant! As your architect, I was given a unique opportunity to get to know the organization, its program, and its people very well. We had the good fortune to make several site visits to different women’s facilities and came away with an in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing our incarcerated parents and their children. These experiences make it nearly impossible not to be a part of Our Children’s Place. Karen has also moved to the Advisory Board. She may regret making her very generous offer to us to “call or e-mail me anytime if I can help.” Our own Hats Queen, Mary isn’t willing to give up Our Children’s Place 100% so she’s serving on our Hats Off! planning committee. Thank you to our wonderful current, past, and future (see p. 6) Board and Advisory Board members for your time, insight, and support! There are two additional reasons I said “yes” to the chair opportunity. One is the amazing executive committee, consisting of Chris, Schree, Mark, and Katie. The second is simply Katie. The fact that she’s continuing in the Past Chair position (all the glory, fewer meetings!) means I have someone there to turn to for support and the voice of experience. I value her insight almost as much as I value her enthusiasm and dedication! I hope to have the chance to talk with you at one of our upcoming events - Hats Off!, holiday markets, October breakfast – mentioned throughout the newsletter. From Rhonda’s Pen For those of you whom I haven’t met, my name is Rhonda Angerio. I’m an architect, I’m the new chair of Our Children’s Place Board, and I’m a (5) Our Children’s Place I am very honored to be a part of this great organization and in on the secret! With gratitude, Rhonda Angerio, Chair, Board of Directors In late June we were selected by the store team members at Whole Foods in Chapel Hill to be the 5% Day recipient for the quarter. So on Tuesday, July 16 we set up a table and display board, donned green Whole Foods aprons, and encouraged shoppers to stop by, ask questions, and get additional information. Last year’s event was such a great success, we’ve decided to make it an annual event. 90-Minute Board Development Breakfast Tuesday, 10/22/13 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Squid’s 1201 Fordham Boulevard, Chapel Hill (919) 942-8757 • www.squidsrestaurant.com It’s almost holiday market time! Here’s a list of where our amazing hats will be this fall. St. Francis of Assisi Church, Raleigh Friday, 10/25 through Sunday, 10/27  Grace UMC, Wilmington Friday, 11/15 through Sunday, 11/17  We’ll provide a light breakfast and give you a quick update on Our Children’s Place. Then we’d like your thoughts on a few people (maybe you?) who you think could help us with our advocacy work focused on the children of incarcerated parents. By 10:00 a.m. you’ll be finishing your last cup of coffee (or getting one to go) and on your way out the door. We hope that you can join us! And feel free to bring a friend! United Church, Chapel Hill Saturday, 11/23 and Sunday, 11/24  First Presbyterian Church, Durham Sunday, 12/1  One World Market Shop and Shares, Durham Monday, 12/2 (another new one!) St. Thomas More Church, Chapel Hill Saturday, 12/7 WE NEED 90! To Market We Go   We’ll continue to update our website and Facebook pages. A big “Thank you!” goes out to the employees for selecting us and making us feel so welcomed, the customers who stopped by our table, and our amazing supporters who made a point of shopping that day. Orange United Methodist Church, Chapel Hill Saturday, 10/12 This is a new market for us this year! Immaculate Conception Church, Durham Saturday, 12/7 and Sunday, 12/8 If you know of other market opportunities or would like to help staff our tables, please e-mail Jenn at [email protected]. Shopping and Sharing at Whole Foods   Please RSVP by Friday, 10/18/13 (919) 904-4286 [email protected] (6) Our Children’s Place A big “THANK YOU!” goes out to the following individuals and organizations for their support donated January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2013. * Mothers of Bedford February Screening at Meredith College Sponsors Mary and Mike Andrews Anonymous Dorothy Cilenti Great Yarns Kim and Tim Hoke Sandy and Deane Irving Kathy and Jim Roberson Rebecca Slifkin and Rich Rosen Sarah and Robert Shapard Kathleen and Todd ShapleyQuinn Smith Sinnett Architecture Katie Wakeford and Gregg Cusick Rhonda Angerio Gretchen and Art Aylsworth Barb Baranski Georgia Bizios Natalie and Mark Breakfield Dee Brewster Schree and Dragomir Chavdarov Charlotte Claypoole Marguerite and Francis Coyle Asta Crowe Kiosha Cummings Alexis Davila Stephanie Dixon M’Liss Dorrance Mary Edna Fogleman Jean Gross and Donald Miller Ashley-Rosetta Hall Laura Hollis Karie Hudgins Dilek and Ali Imece Tanya Jisa Kathleen Kenny Joseph Klimek Martha and Eric Larson Heather Losee Claire Lyons Joanne Massie Mary Norris Preyer Oglesby and Patrick Oglesby Samantha Overton Nelva Owens James Pierce Harlie Powell Jon Powell Maria and Nagui Rouphail Jan Scott Annamarie Streilein Elise Strevel Russ Taylor Bernetta Thigpen Monica and Spencer Truax Zoe and William Tucker Robin Vail Mary Wakeford and Richard Brown Paul Wakeford Jennifer Williams Twyla Wilson Gail Wood in memory of Marjorie Eaton and Wallace A. Wood Mothers of Bedford May Screening at the North Carolina Botanical Garden Sponsors – see page 3. Rhonda Angerio Rose Azar Chris Blue Dorothy Cilenti Pat DeTitta Mary and Karl Hill Ronnie and George Jackson Marilyn and Charles McNamara Peg and Theodore Pratt Waltraud and Robert Reeber (7) Susan Talbott Mary Wakeford and Richard Brown Nancy Walker Gail Wood, in memory of Wallace A. Wood Individuals Sarah Andrews Jamie Begor Zimmer Natalie Boorman Lydia and Robert Califf Jeffrey Chambers Karen Chapple and Steve Bower Dwain Coleman Leah Devlin Shirley Drechsel Joan Gillings Betty Kenan Caroline and Paul Lindsay Frances Olson Meg Scott Phipps and Robert Phipps Diane and William Race Susan and George Reed Wyndham Robertson Kathy and Jerome Seaton Kathleen and Todd ShapleyQuinn Naomi Slifkin and Glenn Withrow Rebecca Slifkin and Rich Rosen Harry Stowe Mary Stowe Ralph Topete Carolyn Van Sant Richard Wokutch and Mary Ellen Verdu * We’ve worked hard to create accurate lists and apologize in advance for any errors. Please contact us at (919) 904-4286 with corrections. (Continued on next page.) Our Children’s Place Workplace Inkind Donations to Support Parent Day at Orange Correctional Center 411 West Book Harvest Asta Crowe Ellie Kinnaird IBM Hats Trishana Jones Jennifer Przewoznik Twyla Wilson Inkind Donations to Support H.A.T.S. Rose Colagiovanni Marguerite Coyle Rosmarie Faust Rose Medina Monte Nash Richard Placenik Foundations Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Inc. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Faith Community Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Eyes Ears Nose Paws – for letting us borrow their display board for various resource table events we’ve participated in. Crowdrise Thanks to the following folks who contributed to our first online fundraiser launched in mid-May through Crowdrise. Anonymous Rhonda Angerio Jamie Begor Zimmer Georgia Bizios William Bradley Barbara Cilenti Dorothy Cilenti Ellen Clarke Trevaughn Eubanks Carolyn and Lynn Ikenberry Ellie Kinnaird Michael Page Matthew Scallet Charlotta Sjoelin Cassie Smith Kristen Smith Patti and Holden Thorp Suzanne Turner Aimee and Aaron Vandemark Mary Wakeford and Richard Brown Harriet Warner Gail Wood in memory of Wallace A. Wood for Father’s Day Our Children’s Place in the Media (8)  Former Board member Mary Stowe was presented a Village Pride Award and celebrated as a Hometown Hero by WCHL in mid-May. To hear: http://chapelboro.com/category/wchl/featu res/village-pride-awards////page/7.  Melissa Radcliff, Our Children’s Place Executive Director, collaborated with Chaplain Dave Nickel from the AlamanceOrange Prison Ministry to write a Father’s Day column published in the Chapel Hill News and the Durham News. To read: http://www.easternwakenews.com/2013/06 /27/2991384/when-fathers-are-lockedaway.html.  She was also interviewed on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now show in late July. To watch: http://video.unctv.org/video/2365052518/. Our Children’s Place “Destashing” = Bags of Treasures! Mary Stowe, former Board member and owner of Great Yarns (Raleigh) and Yarns, etc. . . (Chapel Hill) sure knows her customers! In late spring she issued them a challenge for the month of June: bring in yarn that you’re not going to use, earn a $1 store credit for each pound, and be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate.  To say that folks “destashed” would be an understatement. Mary collected 896 pounds of yarn! (According to Mary’s blog, a baby elephant weights between 200 and 250 pounds at birth). So far we’ve taken 52 trash bags to the women’s prison (with more to go). To see what wonderful pieces the women created with this donated yarn, go to our website and Facebook pages and join us at a market this fall (see page 6). I/we would like to support the work of Our Children’s Place. P.O. Box 1086 • Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 843-2670 [email protected] • www.ourchildrensplace.com . . . uniting families . . . Name(s) Address City, State, Zip Code Phone Number/E-mail      I/we would like to make a gift in the amount of:  $25  $50  $100  $250  $500  $750  $1,000  Other Amount $ . Please make checks payable to Our Children’s Place. For online donations, go to www.ourchildrensplace.com and click on “Donations.” My/our employer will match this gift. The matching gift form is enclosed. I/we would like to make a gift of stock. Please contact me/us about how to arrange such a gift. Please add me/us to your listserv.  Please contact me/us about having someone speak to my group. Our Children’s Place is a 501(c)(3) organization. Your gift may be tax deductible according to IRS guidelines. (10/12) Kathy Roberson Rich Rosen, JD Katie Wakeford, M.Arch., Past Chair/President Who We Are Board of Directors Rhonda Angerio, Chair/President Chris Blue, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Mark Breakfield, CPA, Treasurer Schree Chavdarov, Secretary Shirley Drechsel Valerie Johnson, Ph.D. Norma Martí Meg Scott Phipps, JD, LLM, Advisory Board Mary Andrews Alice Borden Karen Chapple Dorothy Cilenti Dwain Coleman Leah Devlin Sid Eagles Jaki Shelton Green Kim Hoke Joseph Jordan (9) Our Children’s Place Florence Peacock Linda Perry George Reed James (Jim) K. Roberson Kathleen Shapley-Quinn Cassie Smith Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, Honorary Board Member How to Reach Us P.O. Box 1086 • Chapel Hill, NC 27514 www.ourchildrensplace.com (919) 904-4286 [new number] Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OurChildrensPlaceNC Twitter @ourchildrnplace Staff Melissa Radcliff, Executive Director [email protected] Jenn Barr, Administrative Coordinator [email protected] Our Children’s Place (OCP) is a private nonprofit agency committed to the children of incarcerated parents. We strive to be a leading North Carolina advocate and educational resource focused on these children and the need for a statewide response to ensure their well-being. Our long-term goal is the creation of a residential facility that will allow young children to live with their mothers who are serving a sentence for a non-violent offense. (9/26/13) P.O. Box 1086 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 ( 10 )