We want to alert you to a local and national problem that threatens some of our most vulnerable children and is one of the reasons that crime continues to plague our neighborhoods.
Our No More Victims program works with children of incarcerated parents in Houston schools. These children are often at high risk for suicide, high dropout rates, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and a future behind bars. They are victims of a cradle-to-prison pipeline, that results in intergenerational incarceration.
A picture speaks for itself
One of our students drew this picture to express her emotions after her father went to prison and was later killed. She hides behind a smiling mask, but inside she boils with anger, guilt, and rejection. She writes that she is empty inside and she is being pulled apart.
Her story is not unique. Through No More Victims, our students learn how to express their pain and overcome the challenges life throws at them. Nearly every one of our students graduates from high school. Very few of them wind up in prison. They beat the odds.
As we change their lives, we are changing the face of Houston. Incarceration destroys families. Mass incarceration destroys communities. Reducing it in this generation is an investment in the future.
If you want to stop crime, you need to start with children
This map shows Houston’s future if we don’t make a change. The predication is shocking. The dark red indicates neighborhoods where children are at the highest risk of going to prison when they grow up and children whose parents have been in prison are particularly vulnerable.
The key is to keep kids from following in their parents’ footsteps. A recent study shows that 80% of arrests trace back to 10% of the families in America. With this information we can treat incarceration and crime like a disease. We know kids “catch” it. We know where they live, and we know where they go to school. No More Victims is in those schools, helping these children find a brighter, better future.
U.S. Census Bureau Map
This is a Houston problem. One-quarter of the inmates held in Texas come from Houston and there may be 100,000 children of incarcerated parents in our city. You can change their future.
You can reduce crime and incarceration in our neighborhoods. You can do that by supporting our No More Victims program. Will you?
Help support our mission with an annual contribution or become a monthly donor.
Thank you in advance for helping us help America’s most vulnerable children!