People believe in you and the things you are doing and I truly believe it is only a matter
of time before the organization and the curriculum are recognized nationwide. I know
that you’re all doing phenomenal work and the organization needs to be widely
recognized. – Written by an ex Parenting From Afar Mom who is presently at Jessup
Corrections Center
It is November and I cannot possibly capture all of the work COIPP has been doing over
the past few weeks. Much of our time has been spent getting ready for our December
3rd 6th Annual Silent Auction, and preparing a grant application that will allow us to
expand our current offerings. However, this never stops us from doing business as
usual, as well as trying some new activities. There have been our ongoing events, as
well as some new opportunities. However, once again, none of this would be possible
without the leadership of our working board. If you see them, kindly say a word of
thanks to: Sally Smith, Cindi Diamondstone, Gretta Benson, Vanessa Thomas Morris,
Sue Guissinger, Shirley White, Pat Rosensteel, Pat Einhorn, Patty McCardle, and
Theresa Posthuma, as well as our social media team, Melissa Stoey and Mary
Mulligan.
I thought I would focus on two new endeavors for my November wrap up:
Respite Care Meetings– Imagine that you are newly retired, on a budget, and looking
forward to the next phase of your life. Suddenly a call comes. Your daughter is in trouble
as is her boyfriend. They are both at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center and
will be there for months to come. Your grandchildren have no place to go. The question
is simple, “Will you help?’ The answer usually starts with an emphatic YES. However,
as time passes and you see your finances dwindle, your fatigue grows and there is no
end to this dilemma, you find yourself in a difficult situation. Can you really do this? Are
you, a grandparent in your sixties, able to raise children 24 hours a day? How will you
keep up with all of the needs the children present? For a long time, we at COIPP have
talked about offering some kind of respite care to those who do the work of angels,
namely raise the children while the parents cannot. Thanks in part to a grant from the
Frederick Women’s Giving Circle (FCWGC) and to the Families impacted By
Incarceration Program (FIIP), done in collaboration with The Mental Health Association
(MHA), we have started just such a project. On November 8 we held our first Respite
Care meeting-and we cannot wait for more. We met at Head Start at Lucas Village,
while the children went next door to the Police Athletic League gym, so we were in a
perfect place. Thanks to Brandon Chapman, the children were able to play at PAL, eat
pizza dinner and enjoy each other’s company, while the caregivers and COIPP
volunteers assembled at Head Start and ‘relaxed’. We had dinner from Frisco’s, a new
clothing give-away thanks to a donation from one of our amazing volunteers, and even
played Bingo for useful household resources. As we ‘played’ we talked, and talked and
talked. The caregivers had so much to share in terms of their personal situations and
frustrations. When done, everyone took a survey about the Respite Care meeting. The
ratings were so high, we decided to do the event again in 2 months and several more
times throughout the year. In fact, we are hoping to get a grant to support and enrich
our Respite Care efforts. I must add that for this event, given that it was our first attempt,
many COIPP volunteers came to the meeting. We all agreed that it was a great Friday
night for us as well as for the caregivers; it was simply a group of friends coming
together to talk about the difficulties of parenting, budgeting, and finding time for
oneself.
School Counselor Panel session– Every year I am asked to speak to school counselors
about COIPP. This year, Janet Shipman, supervisor from Frederick County Public
Schools (FCPS), asked me to organize a panel discussion for the school counselors. i
included on the panel two grandparents who have raised their children while parents
have been incarcerated, a Mom who has had a husband in and out of jail while she
raised their 3 children, a leader of our men’s Parenting From Afar class, and a leader
from our women’s Parenting From Afar class. Each participant shared why they were a
part of COIPP and then shared the ways they interact with the organization. From there
we talked about what kinds of activities/resources each believed the children and their
families needed from the counselors, and what difficulties they see families going
through when a loved one is in jail. The conversation was rich and honest. We wound
up sharing for two hours with lots of questions coming from the audience. I am
convinced that everyone gained knowledge and came to understand the diversity of the
caregivers who find themselves in this situation. At the end, several counselors came up
to different panel members and talked about how they could individually help each
family. This was a wonderful afternoon. I look forward to more meetings like this with
different departments of the school system. By working together and learning from one
another, we can make a difference in a child’s life.
A Home for COIPP– I am so excited to share that COIPP is reaching a
new phase in its development. Until now, we have not had a ‘home’. We do have a
rented storage unit, a telephone beside my bed, and a rented post office mailbox.
However, we were fortunate enough to be given a Strategic Plan grant from Community
Partnership. This will allow us to rent a space and purchase technology that will help
us with record keeping. Stay tuned; next month we will be sharing our new location.
There were many more highlights in our month. They included my sharing at Dante
Brown’s class on Trauma at Spring Ridge Elementary school, holding our monthly
Reconnecting Class, with Cindi Diamondstone, at the local Frederick County Adult
Detention Center for those dads getting ready to be released on parole, completing a
podcast for therapists who tune in to the Joy Factor, continuing the Parenting From Afar
classes with Cathy Anderson, and more. Of course, books continue to be mailed to
children, one on one meetings and conversations go on with caregivers, and meetings
for overall assistance to those wanting to start an organization like ours in their areas
continue to go forward. One of the biggest pieces of news is our updating our Guide
Star information on non-profit transparency and receiving a Platinum Level designation.
Thanks go to Sally Smith for taking on the update.
I cannot wait until next month when I can report on the success of the auction, offer an
update on the events of December, and share information from our overall review of the
2019 year.
Here is to a wonderful, happy, healthy holiday. May your wishes come true!
Shari
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