In New York, Give Back’s community partners provide the essential mentorship and support systems that help our scholars thrive. These partner contributions advance Give Back’s mission of making higher education aspirations a reality for students who face economic hardships and other adversities such as foster care or the incarceration of a parent. In 2017, the Osborne Association joined our network of community partners. As one of the leading criminal justice organizations in New York City providing support to families and children whose lives are touched by incarceration, their mission and our own were a natural fit.
The Osborne Association has been transforming lives, communities and the criminal justice system since 1933. The organization now reaches over 12,000 people a year through key programming and services in 4 community sites, 7 jails and 30 state prisons in New York. Osborne is reunifying families through parenting education and its support programs.
Their innovative FamilyWorks program provides child-friendly visiting rooms for parents and their children to meet in prison. The NY Times recently praised Osborne’s TeleStory program, which allows children to read books with their incarcerated parents through high quality video visits. “Video visiting can be a lifeline to keep children connected with their incarcerated parents,” the story notes, and the Osborne Association’s living room decorated with toys, soft furniture, and art, allows these family visits to take place in a comfortable and warm environment (MacNaughton, 2019).
Osborne supports children, and youth through each stage, from arrest and pre-entry, through jail and prison, to reentry of the incarcerated parent. Children and youth ages 5 to 18 participate in monthly recreational activities such as ice-skating, cooking classes, apple picking and bowling. Youth ages 13 to 15 in the Youth Experience Success (YES!) program receive peer support and life-skills workshops. The Youth Action Council (YAC) empowers youth ages 15 to 18 to raise awareness on parental incarceration through advocacy, films and support letters.
Now, Osborne is encouraging its eligible college-bound youth to apply for the Give Back scholarship. Currently, Give Back selected three Osborne youth to be its first scholarship recipients in New York.
The Osborne Association helps children and youth strive for a bright future, and not become limited by their parent’s incarceration. Give Back is honored to partner with the Osborne Association.
To learn more about the Osborne Association, visit their site: http://www.osborneny.org/.
Source:
Macnaughton, W. (2019, August 29). Behind Bars, and Pixels Too: How Technology Makes Jail Even Bleaker. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/business/video-visit-jail-prison.html.