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Prison Fellowship reaches out to prisoners’ children
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Posted on Nov 29 2006
A strong bond between parent and child is essential for the emotional health of a child and that fragile bond can be easily shattered when a parent becomes incarcerated. The Prison Fellowship Angel Tree program is one way to help restore that important relationship.
According to Prisoner Fellowship CNMI, the children of prisoners are at greater risk of turning to a life of crime. “They are more likely to be neglected, in financial need, and many drop out of school. The children of prisoners are greatly impacted by the consequences of their parent’s imprisonment. They often grow up feeling abandoned, isolated, and unloved,” the group said in a statement.
Prison Fellowship CNMI is helping reverse these trends by bringing local prisoners’ children a special Christmas gift in the name of their incarcerated parent.
Through this program, Prison Ministry volunteers, churches, business establishments, private citizens, and members of the community buy gifts for participating prisoners’ children. The gifts are wrapped and delivered to the family, usually with personal cards from the children’s imprisoned parent.
“These gifts go a long way to send the important message to the children that they are indeed loved and missed by their absent parent during what can be a difficult time of year,” the group said.
Grace Christian Assembly prison Ministry has been involved in the Angel Tree program since 1986. For the past five years, Prison Fellowship CNMI has continued to assist in the coordination of this program.
