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Boca Raton, FL, October 1, 2020 – Today, KidsMates announces its partnership with the Osborne Association for their sixth annual See Us, Support Us (SUSU) month. During October, SUSU highlights the needs and experiences of the millions of children in this country who experience a parent’s incarceration.
Joshua Martoma, a Co-Founder of KidsMates, and a SUSU 2020 Youth Ambassador says, "When my father first went to prison, I was devastated. Not only did I lose one of the most important figures in my life, but also I was exposed to painful shame and stigma. Fast forward to the present. As a co-founder of KidsMates and as a member of the first-ever Youth SUSU Team, I have the unique privilege of sharing my voice on behalf of the millions of children who face the harsh realities of having a parent in prison. Today marks the beginning of 2020’s See Us, Support Us month. I’m so proud to help shine a light on the silent American epidemic of parental incarceration."
Read the complete press release below.
See Us, Support Us 2020 Increases
Supports for Children with Incarcerated Parents this October:
6th Annual Year Highlights Tools for Educators
Thursday, October 1, 2020:
Today, the Osborne Association and our local, state, and national partners launch the sixth
annual See Us, Support Us (SUSU) month to highlight the needs and experiences of the
millions of children in this country who experience a parent’s incarceration. Guided by a national
advisory board and a youth team whose members have experienced parental incarceration,
SUSU 2020 focuses on supporting children’s educational success and wellbeing from
early childhood through college. COVID-19 presents unique challenges for the one in 14
children who experience a parent’s incarceration. Many students are navigating COVID,
returning to school or learning, all while missing their parent and worrying about them. SUSU
2020 offers tools and resources to educators—and other family-serving professionals—to
support these children and young people. Throughout October, SUSU will hold free virtual
events, share resources and tools on the SUSU website for school staff, and host an Art
Contest and other events for young people.
See Us, Support Us is a unique national initiative coordinated by the Osborne Association’s
New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents. While programs and advocacy on
behalf of children whose parents are incarcerated have increased over the past decade, this
experience remains largely hidden from public view and consideration. Children may experience
isolation, fear, confusion, and other challenging emotions and are often judged for their parent’s
choices. SUSU aims to counter this by raising awareness, spotlighting children’s strengths and
talents, and providing resources and tools to promote positive outcomes. The evidence is clear
that when supported, children of incarcerated parents thrive and succeed.
SUSU 2020 is a collaborative of nine organizations that serve or advocate on behalf of children
with incarcerated parents. These include the National Resource Center for Children and
Families of the Incarcerated, Bay Area Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership,
Connecticut Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative, Daughters Beyond Incarceration,
POPS the Club, Arizona State University Center for Child Well-Being, KidsMates, and We Got
Us Now.
"See Us, Support Us (SUSU) uniquely uplifts the voices and talents of children whose parents
are incarcerated, while also highlighting how difficult this experience can be, and the policy and
practice changes that are needed to support successful outcomes for children. SUSU provides
invaluable resources for all those who work with or care for children, with a special and timely
focus this year on tools for educators in the time of COVID, underscoring the importance of both
a trauma-informed and race equity lens. We're honored to partner with young people and
national leaders in launching SUSU 2020."
-- NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents,
"When my father first went to prison, I was devastated. Not only did I lose one of the most
important figures in my life, but also I was exposed to painful shame and stigma. Fast forward to
the present. As a co-founder of KidsMates and as a member of the first-ever Youth SUSU
Team, I have the unique privilege of sharing my voice on behalf of the millions of children who
face the harsh realities of having a parent in prison. Today marks the beginning of 2020’s See
Us, Support Us month. I’m so proud to help shine a light on the silent American epidemic of
parental incarceration. "
– Joshua Martoma, Co-Founder of KidsMates, and SUSU 2020 Youth
Ambassador
“Children with incarcerated parents have largely been an invisible population, despite a national
awareness of mass incarceration. See Us, Support Us (SUSU) raises awareness of their unique
experiences and advocates for supporting their wellness and success. In a time of a global
pandemic, when children everywhere are facing educational setbacks and challenges, See Us,
Support Us has a special focus on educational tools to care for children with incarcerated
parents. The Walls to Bridges Book Project is proud to support SUSU 2020.”
– Alyssa Tamboura, Adult child of a formerly incarcerated parent and
Founding Director of the Walls to Bridges Book Project
“As an educator who is also directly impacted by the toll of having a loved one incarcerated, I
can tell you first-hand that having a supportive and safe space in the place where I spend the
bulk of my day — school — is critical. Many of my students are experiencing parental
incarceration and they shouldn’t have to share for the school to respond. As a system, we are
well-aware of the mass incarceration rates in our State and in our nation. We are in a societal
epidemic. Teachers, administrators and school support staff are the first lines of defense since
we spend so much time in close contact with our students.. We all need to be trained in how to best meet the needs of children who have parents in prison. They should not have to bear the
brunt of that weight alone. I implore all school programs to participate in See Us, Support Us
2020 and establish meaningful ways to help our students living with the harsh reality of parental
incarceration not only survive, but thrive."
-- Vivett Dukes, NYC DOE Educator, and Councilmember and
Northeast Delegate, National Parents Union
“Navigating a complex world without the aid of parent, especially with the onset of remote
learning and other changes from our current reality, is no easy feat for a child; yet so many
children in our city and state with a parent incarcerated face this challenge each day as they
work for their own educational success and wellbeing," said NY State Assemblyman David I.
Weprin, Assembly Corrections Committee Chair. "It is important that we do all we can to
listen to and highlight the voices and lives of children experiencing the effects of having a parent
who’s incarcerated. I am glad to support See Us, Support Us 2020, and look forward to
partnering with the multitude of individuals who are part of this movement to create change so
we can make things better for these young people"
“See Us, Support Us (SUSU), the Osborne Association’s national initiative, has provided
increasing support, care, and the tools needed for our youth to help overcome the emotional
strain and trauma left by experiencing a parent's incarceration. Osborne’s and SUSU’s efforts
and resources, dedicated to addressing children's well-being, educational needs, and achieving
academic success, have profoundly changed lives for the better. I am proud to partner with such
an initiative that raises awareness of our children's unique and challenging experiences and
have amplified their often-overlooked voices. We must continue to advocate for those who have
been left behind, help decrease the stigma that comes with parental incarceration, and create
spaces that will safeguard a thriving, trusting, and positive environment.”
-- NY State Senator Luis Sepulveda, Chair of the Senate Crime, Crime Victims &
Corrections Committee
“The criminal justice system disproportionately targets black and brown communities and by
extension, affects their children, families and loved ones; when one person is incarcerated, the
entire community suffers” said NY State Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa. “When I
envision a transformed criminal justice system, I envision the prioritization of rehabilitation, the
preservation of familial ties, and the uncompromised dignity of all. We must stop treating
populations that interact with the criminal justice system as second-class citizens and ensure
that personal bias does not interfere with the health and well-being of incarcerated individuals or
their families. I urge my colleagues to pass the Visiting Bus Bill (A.7016A) to alleviate financial
burdens associated with loved ones who are incarcerated and to pass the Elder Parole Bill
(A.9040), which would allow individuals over the age of 55 to live out the rest of their lives
alongside their children and loved ones. See Us, Support Us 2020 helps us to reimagine the
criminal justice system.moving away from criminalization and ensuring that we are focusing on
justice: justice for those in prison, justice for their families, justice for their communities!”
“When people are incarcerated, many assume their former lives will simply vanish. But for the
kids they leave behind, it doesn’t work that way: They are still their parents. Mass incarceration
is a national issue whose impact is far-reaching, as evidenced by the 2.7 million American
children who have a parent behind bars. SUSU is critical as it demands that the most vulnerable
are visible and supported. The choice to focus on education is spot on. We must reimagine our
school systems in a way that they're free of zero-tolerance discipline policies and on-campus
police. Schools should be affirming spaces where children of incarcerated parents can be
supported and free from stigma. We need a system that dismantles the school-to-prison pipeline
and introduces equity and opportunity.”
-- Sylvia A. Harvey, Journalist and Author of The
Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and the American Family
“WE GOT US NOW is proud to participate in See Us, Support Us (SUSU) for the 3rd year as a
national partner and amplify the voices, talents and policies that work to ensure that directly
impacted children and young adults thrive amidst the trauma, stigma and shame of losing a
parent to incarceration. Every October, this month-long event spotlights the invaluable
resources that have proven to support our often marginalized population. SUSU 2020 will
ensure that the collective efforts of our community and allies are magnified and uplifted.
- Ebony Underwood, Founder/CEO, WE GOT US NOW
“Recently, at a BAYCIPP Virtual Summit our keynote speaker Lateefah Simon reminded me
why See Us, Support Us month is so critical and still necessary. She said, ‘Children of
incarcerated parents are soldiers in a war that they did not start.’ I would say that they are not
recognized for their brilliance, strength, resilience or diversity. We celebrate and honor these
soldiers that keep fighting not just on their behalf but for others that will come after them.
"For the last five years, See Us, Support Us (SUSU) has amplified the important, but too often
ignored voices of children with incarcerated parents. At POPS the Club, we know how much
that matters! This year's focus on education is especially important to all of us at POPS because
we know how important it is for our educators to see us and support us. We are honored to be a
partner in this initiative celebrating strength, wisdom and resilience of children with incarcerated
parents." - Board, staff, grads and teens of POPS the Club
“Since 2015 NRCCFI has joined with advocates from around the country, guided by youth and
adult leaders from NYCIP/Osborne to celebrate the ways in which children with incarcerated
parents are all at once, like all children, like some children who share their experience and like
no one but themselves. The annual See Us, Support Us initiative has been the most effective
way of bringing the themes and the variations – the resilience and the pain more clearly into
focus by centering the voices of the children and families impacted by incarceration in defining
the issues and designing solutions. We urge EVERYONE to take part in SUSU 2020 this year,
as we highlight the significant role of schools in this important work.”
-- Ann Adalist-Estrin, National Resource Center on Children and
Families of the Incarcerated at Rutgers University Camden
"On any given day in the U.S., 1 in 28 children experience parental incarceration. How many of
these children are seen and supported in your school? See Us, Support Us (SUSU) 2020
provides an opportunity for educators to support, acknowledge, uplift and empower some of
their most resilient students. It has been a privilege to continue to do God's work all while
working alongside youth, national partners and national leaders in the field."
-- Shannon Ellis, SUSU 2020 National Planning Committee member
One in 28 children in the U.S. has an incarcerated parent on any given day—more than 105,000 children in New York State have a parent in jail or prison. The racial disparities inherent in the current criminal justice system extend to children: 1 in 9 African-American children, 1 in 28 LatinX children, and 1 in 57 white children have a parent who is incarcerated. Maintaining family ties during incarceration decreases recidivism, and supports family reunification and children’s well-being.
The Osborne Association’s New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents (NYCIP) convenes more than 60 agencies and community and faith-based partners throughout the state to advance
policies and practices that support children of incarcerated parents and their families. NYCIP raises awareness about this often overlooked population of children and elevates their strong, wise, and
resilient voices.