Childhood Favorite Encourages Conversation About Children of Incarcerated Parents Fall 2013

. . . 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.
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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:
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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:
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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
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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
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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
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Grace UMC, Wilmington
Friday, 11/15 through Sunday, 11/17
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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
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First Presbyterian Church, Durham
Sunday, 12/1
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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
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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
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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
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
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
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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
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