Third Tuesdays Full of Family Fun!!!
Every third Tuesday, the offices at 2226 N Davidson transform into a family restaurant, activity and community center. Families who participate in EKWIP- Empowering Kids With Incarcerated Parents program come for a family meal, dinner time activities, after dinner story telling, arts and crafts and informational sessions. The families and children are a growing community that is often hidden in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, relatives of people who are incarcerated. There are over 5,200 children who have a parent in prison or jail from and another 10,000 who have experienced incarceration.
The EKWIP program provides school based support groups for children with incarcerated parents and children are receiving good reports from the teachers and the caregivers about behavior change, improved school grades, and readiness to learn.
Children learn to identify their feelings, find coping strategies and safe people to talk to and find they are not alone in being separated from a parent.
Funding for this program is provided by the Governor's Crime Commission, The Hayes Family Foundation, Mecklenburg County, and generous donors.
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