Home > Living a Better LIFE > Archives > 2008 > July > 14
Monday, July 14, 2008
Prisoners find freedom for a day in camp with their children
The first few children knocked their mothers over.
They lay on the floor together, hugging and kissing and reveling in the moment. It was a sight of pure joy.
The volunteers in the room who weren’t crying laughed. Some did both. I was one of the latter. I was one of almost 200 volunteers participating in “One Day With God” on Saturday at Church on the Rise in Rocky Mount.
The program brought 21 mothers from Fountain Correctional Center for Women to the church to be reunited with their children for one day away from the prison. The children of two of the women didn’t make it, but they were able to stay and enjoy the day anyway. It was a day filled with games, puppet shows, inspirational speakers and forgiveness.
The program has been done in several prisons in North Carolina and other states. To find out more, go to forgivenministry.org.
At 9:45 a.m., Scottie Barnes, the program’s creator, had the women line up in the large room they were in. Former NFL player Dave Washington stood at the door and called the women’s’ names one by one as he yelled that their children were there. Some children ran and jumped into their mother’s arms. The older ones tended to enter a little more sedately. Either way, when they met, the embrace was filled with joy. It was a beautiful experience.
The women and children went outside to play fun games such as passing a balloon overhead down a line and a beanbag relay race. The children were even able to ride a horse. The moms helped their children make a lamp, sat with them through a puppet show, ate birthday cake with them and enjoyed a quiet time of talking.
The children seemed to have a ball. They were able to spend time with their moms in an unthreatening and stress-free environment. They got more than the weekly two hours that is normally allowed for visiting time. Many of the children came from other cities or states, so they never even get that two hours.
One of my favorite aspects of the day was that no matter where you looked, there were no reminders that these women were prisoners. There were no officers in uniforms or prisoners in jump suits. Everyone who came wore different color T-shirts: blue for volunteers, green for inmates and children and yellow for prison staff. They looked just like regular moms playing with their children.
Some people might argue that these women are prisoners and do not deserve this privilege. I am not one of those. If people are going to turn their lives around, they need something to fight for. They need to realize that their children still love them, even though they have made mistakes. Just as importantly, those children needed to know their mothers love them. They didn’t do anything wrong, but they are being punished, too. Their sentence is a life without their mom in it.
I don’t know what these 21 women did to end up in prison. I don’t know if they have been good or bad moms in the past. It is not relevant, and it is none of my business. The past is done. They committed crimes, and they are serving the time. What matters now is the choices they make in the future.
The “One Day With God” program has some lofty goals: to help the women reconnect with their children, to keep the children from becoming prisoners themselves and to show the moms the lives they should be fighting for.
I hope some of them were accomplished. The futures of those families are at stake.
What do you think of a program that tries to forge better relationships between prisoners and their children? Share your thoughts by commenting here or e-mail me at lmcfarland@coxnc.com.
