cityscape
Supporting the Children of Incarcerated Parents
A small Etobicoke charity hopes a community fund will help grow their programming for children with one or both parents behind bars.
Courtesy Jessica Reid
Across Canada, there are more than 180,000 children with one or more parents in prison. What does that mean for those children? Having a parent in prison puts a child at greater risk for economic and food insecurity. Often, children feel isolated from their “regular” school peers, and try to cope with their emotions and family situation on their own. Due to the shame and stigma attached to incarceration, these children often deal with lowered self-esteem, truancy, and are four times more likely than other children to be in conflict with the law themselves.
F.E.A.T (which stands for Fostering, Empowering and Advocating Together for children of incarcerated parents), was founded by Jessica Reid along with her father, Derek, in 2011 in order to address their needs.
Run out of a tiny community centre in Etobicoke, F.E.A.T. provides a variety of services to those children whose parents are in jail, including a weekly after-school program, a summer drop-in program, peer support, and perhaps the most unique aspect, family visitation: shuttle services to and from the jail on the weekends (it is $35 per adult to ride the shuttle and free for children).
“We’re the only organization of our kind,” Reid says over the phone. “There is nothing else out there and [the children] were struggling in all areas of life.”
Currently, F.E.A.T. is competing in the Aviva Community Fund Ideas contest. “We’re close,” Reid says. “The top four get a $5,000 donation and the opportunity to present in front of a panel to get an additional $45,000.”
According to Reid, an amount of money that size could make an extraordinary difference in the lives of so many children and families. Torontoist spoke with Jessica Reid about what she envisions for the community she is dedicating her life to help.
Torontoist: Can you tell me how the idea for F.E.A.T. came to you?
Reid: I had done my undergrad at Trent University in Psychology and a degree in Education at Western, and then I went out west to teach. Three of my students had parents who were incarcerated and I saw the effects of that on them and how it changed them. I wanted to do something to help. I could empathize because for the first 24 years of my life, my father didn’t know I existed. We found each other a few years ago, reconnected and even though there was a lot of missed milestones, we wanted to build a relationship and make a difference.
What’s it like building and running a company with your father?
(Laughs) That’s a good question. It’s exciting; we’re very similar. It’s amazing that two people could be living separate lives and then come together and find that connection, that piece. We’re still getting to know each other, but we both have this sense of dedication to the idea.
If you won the Aviva Community Fund Ideas contest, what would you do with the money?
The funds would all be directed to the after-school program, providing healthy meals for the kids, keeping things running.
Where do you see F.E.A.T. in the next five years?
I’d like to see us build some satellite programs. Right now we are only serving south and north Etobicoke, but the need is everywhere. I’d like us to start a bus program, and go across the country.
What kind of feedback do you get from the parents and children who use your program?
They say they love the programs and the support. A lot of these kids are worried; they don’t talk about it in school because they’re afraid of the shame and stigma around having a parent in prison. They have nowhere else to go, so they suffer in silence. We give them a place to talk and get support.
How can people who want to support you best do that?
Right now, if you log in to Facebook and vote for us in the Aviva competition, that’s the best way. Supporters can vote once per day, every day until October 23.
(Note: if you want to donate to F.E.A.T. directly, you can do so here).