|
June 15, 2001
"Hope House Director Carol Fennelly"
In this installment of Leadership Talks, Carol Fennelly, Director of Hope House in Washington, DC, discusses the program to improve and sustain the relationships between incarcerated fathers and their children. Leadership for a Changing World
Welcome to LeadershipTalks. We're talking today with Carol Fennelly, of Hope House. Our first question today is:
What brought you to social justice work?
Carol Fennelly
My work with social justice issues spans 25 years. I spent 17 of those years at the Community for Creative Non-Violence. During that time I lived and worked in homeless shelters with many of the same men I now encounter in the prison system. The friendships forged in the shelters during those years created the base of the work I do now.
I come at the work I do from a faith perspective. Over the years I have tried to balance a trinity of aspects in my life. They are service, resistance, and spirituality. I believe it is imperative for me to find ways to serve my community. But if I only provide services without trying to change the systems that sustain and create poverty and injustice, then my service becomes empty charity. I also believe that simply doing the resistance or social change work without planting my life in the midst of those whose situation I am trying to address, turns my resistance into an abstraction out of touch with their real needs and concerns. And I have tried to root all of this in a deep sense of the spirit and my faith.
For me, this is a personal journey. I do not look to save anyone. I believe a closer reading of that Matthew passage says that, in fact, doing those works of mercy saves us. So nobody has to pray to be in the Hope House programs. We respect the faith or non-faith perspectives of all those with whom we work.
Raleigh, NC
Can you describe how Hope House was started?
Carol Fennelly
Five years ago, faced with a Congressional mandate to close its troubled Lorton Correctional Complex in Fairfax County by December 2001, the District of Columbia began to transfer its 10,000 inmates into federal custody. Immediately, 1400 men from Lorton were sent to a private medium security prison in Youngstown, Ohio. With final closure of Lorton imminent, thousands of District prisoners continue to be transferred out of the Washington area to facilities as far away as California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
This displacement has caused tremendous hardships for the prisoners and their families. The expense and logistical difficulty of making trips to visit the out-of-state facilities has severely limited the amount of contact the former Lorton inmates have with their children, spouses, and relatives. Family members who were once able to visit Lorton several times a week are now lucky to see loved ones at all. Even making contact via telephone has become prohibitive, with the cost of a 15-minute phone call going up from $1 at Lorton to $14 at the Youngstown facility! It was in this political climate that the vision for Hope House was born.
As the female prisoners began to be transferred, activists in the community were up in arms because these women were being transferred away from their children. Yet, when the 1400 men in Youngstown were transferred away from their children, nobody bothered to ask what would happen to their relationships with their children. It seemed to me that once again, African American men were being written out of the social fabric of our community and pulled away from their families as they had been for 200 years. So I determined that I would find a way for these men to stay involved in the lives of their children – even from so great a distance. The Father to Child Programs were born!
Albany, NY
How were you able to get funding for Hope? Who funds Hope House?
Carol Fennelly
It took me two years to find a foundation who would give me money to get this project started. Incarcerated men are the lowest on the list of people most folks care about.
My funding comes from foundations and individual donors.
NYC
Given the "digital divide", were their any hurdles to overcome in getting children to use the computer to communicate with their fathers?
Carol Fennelly
First, we have a very simple program, very user-friendly. Both the children and their fathers love it!
The main hurdle we had to overcome was creating a program that was secure enough to satisfy the prison.
Washington, DC
How have you created an alliance with the prison administration?
Carol Fennelly
The primary concern of most prisons is security. The way that goal is achieved depends largely on the prison warden. Within certain boundaries, wardens tend to operate with a degree of autonomy. Some approach security with an iron fist, others view good programming as the best way to get there. One warden of a maximum-security facility told me he did not view his job as punishment but as containment, and that a busy and content inmate has never been a problem. I have been lucky to be able to deal with wardens who approach their job from the latter point of view.
Before approaching the prison with my programs, I tried to think of all of the objections and concerns that might arise – and then have the answers. Then I tried to find a “home” within the prison for each of my programs. Finally, I try to identify a particular population within the prison. It is easier for a busy warden to wrap his mind around something small and manageable than something that will require dealing with the whole population. So before I approach a warden with a new idea, I have all of his security questions answered, I have an agreement with the program person in the department in which I will house the program, I have identified a particular population within the facility, and I have a well thought out program that points out the added value to the facility, the staff, and the inmates.
For instance when putting together the teleconference program, I hired a firm whose primary customer is the Pentagon. They do secure programming for the military. I charged them with creating a system that could not be abused by inmates. So the computers in the prison can do nothing but “talk” to the churches in Washington. We targeted men who had either completed a parenting program or who were in the prisons drug treatment program that contains a parenting component. When proposing the reading program I first made arrangements with the education department. I presented it to them as added incentive to students to learn to read. To participate inmates had to be in some sort of education program. When all of that was in place, I went to the warden who immediately agreed.
My experience is that it is important to make everything as easy, and cost free as possible for the prison and staff.
Fort Collins, CO
How have you seen the Hope House Program affect repeat offender rates?
Carol Fennelly
It's too early to tell. We deal with medium- and maximum-security prisoners who aren't getting out any time soon.
Kankakee, IL
Do children actually spend time in the prison with their fathers?
Carol Fennelly
Our programs are geared to incarcerated fathers and their children who are separated by long distances. However, we sponsor a camp and bring 12 or 13 children to Ohio for a week in the prison with their dads. At night, we sleep at a church camp down the road. During the day, our staff of teachers are in the prison with the children and their fathers. We do art, music, games, theater, and other projects. We try to book each minute so there is no dead air between the fathers and their children.
It's the best project we do.
Madison, NJ
What alliances needed to be formed to launch the program and ensure continued success?
Carol Fennelly
For more than a year before moving from Washington to Youngstown, I traveled to Ohio to meet with members of the community (religious, legal, activist), to let them know of my intentions. And while I did not end up working closely with these groups and individuals, the process was an important one in order to avoid the “outside agitator” label I could so easily have acquired.
In addition, I met with prisoner advocacy groups in Washington to let them know about the services I planned to provide, and to hear from them about other needs they had seen. Obviously I needed to build alliances with the faith community in D.C. since my programs were based in churches.
The most important alliance I built though was with the prison and the staff. It was critical that they learn to trust me, my intentions, my capacity, and my competence. My programs require that I go beyond the visiting rooms of the facilities, and back into the cellblocks and classrooms. They needed to understand I could handle myself in that environment, and that I would respect the boundaries and rules they required.
New York, NY
Although you've mentioned that it's too early to determine whether or not the program will contribute to a lower rate of repeat offenses, have you noticed a difference in the behavior and, for those in drug rehabilitation, the progress of Hope House program participants?
Carol Fennelly
Yes. No prisoner in any of my programs has ever had a behavior violation. Prison officials talk about changes in behavior for the better, and other inmates are encouraged as well.
I've been able to get access to two new prisons housing D.C. inmates because the experience in Ohio was so positive for the prison staff.
Rhododendron, OR
What a great thing you are doing Carol, building relationship between inmates and their children.
I am interested in knowing how and why many of these men have been incarcerated-and how they relate to their children about why they are in prison? In essence, how are these inmates modeling to their children through relationship about the crimes and consequences that have befallen them?
Carol Fennelly
On more than one occasion Hope House children have met their fathers for the first time using the Father to Child Teleconference Program. During camp this year eleven-year- old Tyrone and his father hugged each other for the first time. It was a very moving experience for everyone who witnessed it.
On Mother’s Day weekend, Hope House chartered two buses to bring family members from Washington to Youngstown, Ohio to visit with family members. Rene was on that bus with her eleven-year-old granddaughter Tomesha to visit Tomesha’s dad Thomas. Father and child participated in camp this year. Thomas is in prison for killing his wife – Rene’s daughter and Tomesha’s mother. Using the teleconference program Rene had begun to talk to Thomas for the first time since his trial, eight years earlier. She came to Ohio that weekend to reconcile with her former son-in-law, to make her peace with him, because she said “she could not move on with her life until she forgave him.”
Brooklyn, NY
Hello There: I applaud all the work you do. Last night I went to a reading sponsored by PEN America
by women who have been incarcerated for 16 years under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. There was also one man who had written a powerful epic poem about being incarcerated. It was a moving and inspiring event. Are you linking with organizations to change the Rockefeller Drug Laws that incarcerate mostly poor and minority men and women. There is a website called www.droptherock.org and a rally on June 30th in NYC.
Carol Fennelly
The Rockefeller Drug Laws are atrocious. I agree. However, they are New York State laws and I work primarily with District of Columbia inmates.
I do a lot of work in New York with prisoners and former prisoners, and support the Drop the Rock efforts.
Boston, MA
How do you work with the community to make your program so successful, in particular, with the partnerships that you've formed?
Carol Fennelly
I believe that everyone has something to offer the work of Hope House. Sometimes it just takes some creative, out-of-the-box thinking to understand the role a person or organization might play.
Our programs have a strong rooting in the churches of Washington. We have computers based in two congregations in Washington that anchor the Father to Child Teleconference Program. Both churches are located in parts of the community where many of the families in our program reside. In addition, each church has strong family based programs and offers assistance to many of the families we serve. Additionally, we work with a network of churches and individual members across the country that do fundraising and book drives (for the Father to Child Reading Program).
We work with several organizations that provide inmate services to people returning to the community. Our teleconference program is also used to do pre-release interviews in order to access needs, and for job training interviews.
We work with myriad groups that have something to offer the fathers and children in our program. For instance, we have a partnership with the Humanities Council of Washington. They provide films for the Hope House Lecture and Film Series. Food service providers give us food for outings and parties for the children. Reading Is Fundamental offers books for the reading program. We have a partnership with a consortium of 600 manufacturers of children’s merchandise and distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods to the children of inmates, correctional officers, and the community.
NYC
As you prepare to move, how are you laying the groundwork, both with the community and with the new prison staff, in order to get access to both communities?
Carol Fennelly
When I leave here today, I will be heading to North Carolina. This is my second trip. I will be meeting again with prison staff and church people in the area.
These advance meetings and connections are critical to a smooth transition. With understanding about what I'm doing, a lot of fear and hostility is dispelled.
It's important that the prison staff learn to trust me. And I need the support and cooperation of the churches.
Jackson, MS
What were some of the obstacles you faced in starting and running Hope House, and what you have done to overcome them?
Carol Fennelly
I think it is fair to say that incarcerated men are at the bottom of society’s “important people list.” It took two years to find any funder even remotely interested in providing support for my programs. As I looked at the reasons for that, I realized that the political icon of Willie Horton created during the Reagan /Bush years had been driving public opinion and policy on crime and incarceration for 20 years. It was clear to me that image needed to be changed.
I believe the media can be a tool for mass communication and consciousness changing. So I set about trying to use that tool to help the community think about prisoners in new ways. Most people cling to the idea of inmates as “bad guys” who are now out of sight and out of mind. They do not see them as fathers, sons, husbands and brothers, and certainly don’t consider the children who have been left behind. Because the Father to Child Programs are so innovative, and therefore newsworthy, we have been able to attract significant press attention to them. Each piece has told the stories of the children and their fathers, and the great love they have for one another. It is hard not to be moved by these stories. And that allows us to inch forward in the reshaping thinking and eventually public policy.
In this way Hope House has been able to overcome a lot of the hostility of potential funders to this underserved population, and create a more sympathetic public ear to our message.
Chicago, IL
You need to rely on technology for your program. Are there other ways you think technology could be helpful to your work?
Carol Fennelly
I would like to see more computer training available to prisoners. The father-to-child programs I conduct have no meaning if a man cannot come out of prison and support his family.
Pasadena, CA
Since you already have the knowledge and experience with this program, would you consider training social workers from other
parts of the country, so a Hope House can be started in California for example?
Carol Fennelly
I created my programs in such a way as to be easily modeled. They are inexpensive to run, don't require a lot of staffing, and have an eye to the concerns of prisons for security. So, yes, I would love to talk to people interested in replicating the work of Hope House.
You can contact me at:
P.O. Box 2232, Youngstown, Ohio, 44504.
Phone: (330) 744-1414
E-mail: Carol6949@hotmail.com
Los Angeles, CA
Are there particular people who inspire you Carol?
Carol Fennelly
The men I work with inspire me every day. Their desire to be good fathers in the most adverse conditions knocks me out.
Two other people, who are no longer alive, who inspired me are Mitch Snyder and Dorothy Day.
Lansing, MI
How do you balance your personal life with your work, i.e., choosing to uproot your life and moving in order to continue the program?
Carol Fennelly
Two things sustain me in the work that I do – my faith, and the fathers and children of Hope House. I have already talked about my faith. But the men and the children are also important to me. I draw strength from them, which often seems counterintuitive to me. Too often in this type of work we do not allow the people we serve to give back to us. It is important to learn how to do that – for them and for us.
As for balancing my personal life, I don't do as much as I should. Along with North Carolina, I am going to take a much-needed vacation!
Minneapolis, MN
What does the future hold for Hope House? Will the programs continue in North Carolina?
Carol Fennelly
As the DC inmates are transferred to federal facilities across the country, Hope House will close it’s sites in Ohio, Arizona, and New Mexico and move our operations to North Carolina, where 1000 District inmates will be held. Our work with the children in Washington will expand as we lose access to many of the men with whom we currently work. Finding new and creative ways to help these children stay connected to their dads is the challenge we now face.
We have found that the children of Hope House carry a secret with them each day. The secret is that their father is in prison. Together they have the same secret, and there is a sense of liberation that occurs when they spend time together. We will be expanding the “support group” activities we currently do to include the children in our programs now, and the new children whose fathers are in North Carolina. In addition, we will be putting together a theatre project to allow the children, their mothers, and men coming out of prison to tell their stories in a theatrical format. The production will be seen by church groups, civic organizations, and other groups. This theatre project is a way to bring a difficult message, wrapped in a non-threatening format, to the general public.
Leadership for a Changing World
That is all the time we have today. We would like to thank Carol for joining us and sharing her successes with Hope House.
If you are interested in learning more about Hope House, please contact:
Carol Fennelly
P.O. Box 2232
Youngstown, Ohio, 44504.
Phone: (330) 744-1414
E-mail: Carol6949@hotmail.com
Today's conversation and additional information on Hope House will be archived on the Leadership for a Changing World website, www.leadershipforchange.org.
Thank you for joining our live conversation with Carol Fennelly. Check back with us for future Leadership Talks.
Carol Fennelly
|
