Writings from Children of Incarcerated Parents
Alyssa Tamboura
"Though it seems lifetimes past, the pain of missing my father and experiencing my life unravel will never leave me."
FINDING YOUR TRUTH
"If young people grow up hearing this false narrative about how their life is meant to go, they may just buy into it. I know this because I was one of those kids that bought into the lies."
Papi in the bronx
"The inconsistent communication made it impossible for me to hear more of my father’s stories."
Where the ants go
"It bothered me that the ants could crawl into my daddy's strong arms. But I couldn't."
Tips for a Successful Visit with Your Incarcerated Parent
"Being on time is a great way to let Daddy know how important he is to me and how much I value our time together."
Beating the odds
"I want to help people who have been told they cannot be successful because they come from a poor neighborhood. I want to be able to tell them that there is more to believe than the negative stereotypes."
Danait W. Yemane
"If my father had access to adequate systems of support for both his physical and mental health, my family would look very different today."
More than a sentence: what time feels like in prison
"My dad’s sentence feels like a life sentence because I never had and never will have him home with me. My grief seems to be stuck on prison time."
In transit photo project
Jacobia Dahm is a Berlin-based photographer who worked alongside the Osborne Association a few years ago to meet families impacted by incarceration for this photo project. Some of the families in the pictures are Osborne participants.
Hena Ali-Bernard
"No parent deserves to stop parenting because they are not at home."
Pamela Brunskill
"Fifteen years later, I wonder if there’s a way to take a photo that embraces the actual place and replaces indignation with real smiles and memories."
Sing, Sing, Midnight!
"Families are largely invisible. I wanted to create something that represented the people I loved and that told a story we rarely hear."
My Survival Guide
"I didn’t wanna forget him ever… he was my dad. And what if I never get a chance to visit him again...So just in case, I sat there taking pictures in my mind and storing them in this little section I have where all the thoughts about him were."
An Urgent Need for Child-Sensitive Arrest Policy
"The pain and outrage I feel is why I want to advocate for child-sensitive arrest protocols, data collection, and training."