Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 12:00am
Discussion of Parenting from Prison
With 1.7 ;million children with parents in prison, parenting from prison becomes a critical skill for incarcerated parents. Two former incarcerated fathers talk about their experiences of parenting their children while serving their prison sentences. An overview of the problem of generational criminality is discussed.
- KBOO
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Comments
Parenting Program in Prison
Rex Newton is one of my best friends, one of my heroes, and he is also my father in-law. Pap or Doc as his friends from behind the wall calls him has been a psychologist at Oregon State Prison for over 35 years. He started programs such as Corner Stone, a drug and alcohol treatment program, and is the visionary architect for the Relief Nursery in Portland and a Parenting Program from prison which is the topic of this show. He told me years ago that he has seen fathers in the prison and their son followed. Now, he is seeing the father’s grandson.
Pap visits with his friends when they are released from prison and has become a mentor for most. He does not get a “toaster or canned ham” for his time, and he once told be that he will never profit from his friends. He buys his friends a cup of coffee and lends an ear for their considerations. He is currently teaching basic psychology to inmates getting ready to get out, so that they can have the name and tools for what they are dealing with, and be empowered for what they care about and what they are committed to.
Portland is one of the Greenest and Sustainable cities in the country. Green and sustainability is a balance between social, economic, and the environment. You want to change the World and peace on earth, start with our families and our community. In part, they are “Our World.” Rex’s dad, grandpa Mynard a depression era farmer from Corvallis, once told him to be available for their neighbors, respect the land that sustains us, and to “Leave It Better Than You Found It.”
The budget for the Parenting Program in the prison has evolved from Pap’s initial conception and is in jeopardy of being cut. If you are someone whose life was touched by someone benefiting from this program or if you have an insight, please post your experience.