Most children never imagine spending a week of their summer vacation in prison, but the Hope House youngsters look forward to the exciting experience.
Hope House began in 1998 and provides programs and support to families to keep the bonds between fathers and children strong while dad is in prison.
Hope House children are afforded the opportunity to attend the Father-to-Child Summer Camp behind bars, where they spend five days with their fathers playing games and creating craft works.
This year’s summer camp behind bars took place at Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, N.C., and the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Md., for one week each. A total of 32 children, ages 9 to 14, visited the prisons from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for five consecutive days. While at camp, they spent quality time with their fathers creating murals and portraits, performing songs and dances, journaling and playing competitive family-versus-family games. The goal is to get the children and dads working as one cohesive unit.
“Most of the kids have never worked as a team or haven’t done it in a long time,” said Carol Fennelly, executive director of Hope House.
In addition to the fun-filled days spent with their imprisoned fathers, the children have exciting afternoons and nights at a nearby campground that they call home for the week. They spend time swimming, playing games and tie-dying, and, of course, camp wouldn’t be complete without a campfire and songs.
The children enjoy the camp so much they can’t wait to come back, Ms. Fennelly said, and some even return later as camp counselors and interns. In fact, 18-year-old Isaiah Castillo is a former camper who was hired as a lifeguard after he exceeded the age limit to attend the camp.
Throughout the year, Hope House provides several other outlets of support to the children and their families. Every two weeks, sons and daughters are able to communicate with their dads through the father-to-child teleconference program.
With a computer and Web camera at hand, the dads get to give their child advice, love and support. Some even help them do their homework. Dads also audio record or videotape themselves reading books, which are sent to their children as a means to encourage them to keep up with their studies.
Hope House families have several opportunities for fellowship, especially during holidays, Ms. Fennelly said. They also attend sporting events, plays, movies, festivals and picnics.
As a result of the families living on a single mother’s income, Hope House gives each child a book bag stuffed with all of the basic school supplies they will need for the school year. They don’t just hand out 75 to 80 backpacks; they assign them to each student, paying special attention to what each of them may like, whether it be Hannah Montana or Superman.
“We try and assign the backpacks to the kids in a way that is reflective of their personalities,” Ms. Fennelly said.
Hope House organizers know that the economy is rough right now but have high hopes of getting all the supplies they need to make each child’s school year a success. Due to their nationwide newsletter, which solicits school supplies and some funds for the backpacks, Hope House usually receives donations of pens, pencils, notebooks and the like from all over the country.
“We have people who ship us supplies from as far away as California,” Ms. Fennelly said.
She said all of the programs run by Hope House are in high demand in each of the 14 prisons in the District and the four states - Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida - in which they operate.
However, a prisoner’s wife cannot call and sign up for the program; Hope House leaves that parental responsibility up to the husband and father. He must request to be in the program through the prison where he is housed.
Through placing the decision in the father’s hands, Ms. Fennelly and Hope House staff want them to play an active role in the child’s life.
“You can’t force the program on somebody, they have to reach out to us,” she said.
Hope House’s mission is to help families stay connected during the incarceration period, and they are committed to helping families do this by offering various activities and trips to sustain their efforts.
Most important, they are “making sure that when someone comes home [from prison], they have a good relationship to come back to,” Ms. Fennelly said.
Dominique Kelly is a freelance writer living in Prince George’s County.
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