FEATURE PAGE5 Sept. 15, 2016 E Parents in Pris n e sirens blare, the lights flash, and in a moment, a child’s life is torn apart. is is the sad truth of what many kids in the U.S. have to face when a parent is incarcerated. It is also the beginning of a treacherous cycle of incarcera- tions that usually follow. is is a growing trend that Vonnie Cotant, Program Coordina- tor at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center (SBCDC), is all too aware of. “I have seen several genera- tions of the same families in the facility. e children of the family sometimes begin to ac- cept the cycle of incarceration and this may begin their cycle of incarceration,” Cotant said. Not surprisingly, the stats seem to support this. A study conducted by Central Con- necticut State University concluded that children with a parent in prison are three times more likely to get into trouble with the law than those who don’t. is doesn’t mean that ev- ery kid will end up in jail, but it is a stigma that usually sticks to those with an incarcerated parent, and this can mean a change in a person’s social standing. For student Sonya Amaya*, this is a stigma all too famil- iar. Her father is being held in Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, which is located in the eastern part of the state, since Oct. 15, 2014 on charges of intended child abuse, no injury. “A lot of my dad’s family feels sorry for me. But out in the real world, the people that know my dad and know I’m his daughter immediately give me dirty looks,” Amaya said. Unfortunately for those with incarcerated parents, the hardship doesn’t end there. Financial instability and bro- ken homes are also running rampant among those with a loved one in jail. Over half of the people, with kids, being held in correctional facilities provided the major- ity of the financial support for their family prior to incarcera- tion, according to bjs.org. Once again, this is a reper- cussion that Amaya and her family have had to deal with. “(e incarceration) made my mom have to pay higher rent because the owners think we’re getting child support, when my child support is twenty-one cents from the last payment my dad made,” Amaya said. Even more serious than the money issues is the emotional toll on the family. Not seeing a loved one for years can be traumatic, especially for young people. But with all the ameni- ties that some prisons offer for families, including prison visits and phone calls, a prison stay couldn’t possibly be that hard. Vonnie Cotant explains the visiting procedures and it’s nothing like the movies, to say the least. “Each detainee has two hours weekly. Each visit is 30 minutes. We use a system called Visvox (this is a ser- vice much like facetime) and the visits are monitored and recorded,” stated Cotant. According to Amaya, the first visit with her father was not all that she expected. “e very first time I visited my dad, he was here. I remem- ber being happy to go see my dad until I realized it was going to be by camera. en I did not care for it because I had wanted to give my dad a hug. With this new incarceration I don’t want to go through the hassle of by CHASEWELLS feature editor Cell Stats A look into the hardships of having an incarcerated parent travelling,” Amaya said. ere is some good news though; those incarcerated with children are more likely to get a work assignment or to at- tend a self- help class (bjs.org). is new trend seems to tell a tale of remorse that the incarcerated must be feel- ing for missing out on years of their child’s life, and it can mean that the parent will not be back to prison in the future. It’s a reassuring thought for an otherwise depressing situation. *Names changed to protect identity More than 1/3 of minors with parents in jail will turn 18 with the par- ent still in jail Fewer than half of the parents lived with their children a month prior to arrest Parents most often between the ages of 25 and 34 3/4 have had some form of contact with chil- dren since incarceration Most likely reason for incarceration: drug/public offender offenses Half of incarcerated par- ents had other family in jail *All info provided by bjs.gov The amount of children with parents in jail has nearly doubled since 1991 Scotts Bluff Country Detention Center - Gering, NE
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
FEATURE PAGE5Sept. 15, 2016E
Parents in Pris nThe sirens blare, the lights
flash, and in a moment, a child’s life is torn apart. This is the sad truth of what many kids in the U.S. have to face when a parent is incarcerated.
It is also the beginning of a treacherous cycle of incarcera-tions that usually follow. This is a growing trend that Vonnie Cotant, Program Coordina-tor at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center (SBCDC), is all too aware of.
“I have seen several genera-tions of the same families in the facility. The children of the family sometimes begin to ac-cept the cycle of incarceration and this may begin their cycle of incarceration,” Cotant said.
Not surprisingly, the stats seem to support this. A study conducted by Central Con-necticut State University concluded that children with a parent in prison are three times more likely to get into trouble with the law than those who don’t.
This doesn’t mean that ev-ery kid will end up in jail, but it is a stigma that usually sticks to those with an incarcerated parent, and this can mean a change in a person’s social standing.
For student Sonya Amaya*, this is a stigma all too famil-iar. Her father is being held in Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, which is located in the eastern part of the state, since Oct. 15, 2014 on charges of intended child abuse, no
injury. “A lot of my dad’s family
feels sorry for me. But out in the real world, the people that know my dad and know I’m his daughter immediately give me dirty looks,” Amaya said.
Unfortunately for those with incarcerated parents, the hardship doesn’t end there. Financial instability and bro-ken homes are also running rampant among those with a loved one in jail.
Over half of the people, with kids, being held in correctional facilities provided the major-ity of the financial support for their family prior to incarcera-tion, according to bjs.org.
Once again, this is a reper-cussion that Amaya and her family have had to deal with.
“(The incarceration) made my mom have to pay higher rent because the owners think we’re getting child support, when my child support is twenty-one cents from the last payment my dad made,” Amaya said.
Even more serious than the
money issues is the emotional toll on the family. Not seeing a loved one for years can be traumatic, especially for young people. But with all the ameni-ties that some prisons offer for families, including prison visits and phone calls, a prison stay couldn’t possibly be that hard.
Vonnie Cotant explains the visiting procedures and it’s nothing like the movies, to say the least.
“Each detainee has two hours weekly. Each visit is 30 minutes. We use a system called Visvox (this is a ser-vice much like facetime) and the visits are monitored and recorded,” stated Cotant.
According to Amaya, the first visit with her father was not all that she expected.
“The very first time I visited my dad, he was here. I remem-ber being happy to go see my dad until I realized it was going to be by camera. Then I did not care for it because I had wanted to give my dad a hug. With this new incarceration I don’t want to go through the hassle of
by CHASEWELLSfeature editor
Cell StatsA look into the hardships of having an incarcerated parent
travelling,” Amaya said.There is some good news
though; those incarcerated with children are more likely to get a work assignment or to at-tend a self- help class (bjs.org).
This new trend seems to tell a tale of remorse that the incarcerated must be feel-ing for missing out on years of their child’s life, and it can mean that the parent will not be back to prison in the future. It’s a reassuring thought for an otherwise depressing situation.
*Names changed to protect identity
More than 1/3 of minors with parents in jail will turn 18 with the par-ent still in jail
Fewer than half of the parents lived with their children a month prior to arrest
Parents most often between the ages of 25 and 34
3/4 have had some form of contact with chil-dren since incarceration
Most likely reason for incarceration: drug/public offender offenses
Half of incarcerated par-ents had other family in jail
*All info provided by bjs.gov
The amount of children with parents in jail has nearly doubled since 1991
Scotts Bluff Country Detention Center - Gering, NE
What’s NOT to love in a clown’s face?Apparently, plenty
Nation-wide clown sightings have put a definite chill on the one-time childhood funny man
by TRAVISZEILERfeature writer
It’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong with clowns, after all, they had such a humble, amusing beginning. What was more fun than going to the circus as a child and being entertained by adults dressed up with face paint, big red noses, silly hair and shoes that were often ten times too large for the occupant? Over the years, silly circus clowns have been replaced with scary movie characters that have us looking under the bed at night to make sure the creepy clown from the 1982 movie, Polter-geist, is not ready to kill us. That was followed up with Pennywise the Clown in Stephen King’s 1990 hit movie It. Still not convinced things have changed? Try out the 2014 film Clown. A father puts on a clown suit for his son’s birthday party only to discover he can’t take it off. Needless to say things go from bad to worse. If clowns by themselves aren’t scary enough, try a clown that looks like a porcelain doll. That would be Chucky, the doll intro-duced in the 1988 horror flick, Child’s Play. The movie was so successful that spinoffs like Child’s Play II (1990), Child’s Play III (1991), Bride of Chucky (1998), Seed of Chucky (2004) and Curse of Chucky (2013) all followed. You start to get the pattern here, but for readers not familiar, Chucky 7 is due out in 2017. Where does this all lead us...right into 2016 with all of the clown sightings around the nation that started in August and climaxed right around Halloween. You can read much more on page 2 about the recent phenom-enon and meet some students who are terrified by clowns.
Clown images on the right were found in the public domain
Imagine a dark world, void of any of the wonders that sight can bring. No vibrant colors of fall or sparkling white of win-ter; no face to put with friends or loved ones.
Such is the world of Louis Delgadillo Torres, a student, who, aside from a little periph-eral in his right eye, has been completely blind since birth.
The troubles he faces in a highschool setting aren’t hard to imagine, especially with all of the confusion that the construction has created, but Delgadillo seems to not be phased by the crowded halls and confusing layouts.
With fellow students Koby and Cody on either arm and a walking stick extended out in front, Delgadillo navigates the bustling halls like any other high schooler, weaving through the mess of bodies with ease.
To help him out, the school has placed red tape on the floor to serve as landmarks. The contrast of the red with the rest of the floor makes it easy for Delgadillo to see with what little eyesight he has, and the texture difference just adds an extra layer of security.
Along with the tape, the school has provided Delgadillo with braille in integral parts of his education, including on the keypad in the cafeteria, and a
typewriter, which Delgadillo uses to complete written as-signments.
Teachers on an individual level have also helped by changing certain aspects of
their curriculum to help Delga-dillo along.
“They give him clay in Ge-ography to make maps and the like out of rather than teaching him through pictures. They
try their hardest to get him in-formation in a hands-on way,” says Maggie Anderson, the Healthy Lifestyles teacher and one of Delgadillo’s helpers.
Delgadillo’s family has also tried their hardest to help him become an even more indepen-dent person, ready to face the world despite his impairment.
“My mom helps to make sure my clothes are on right in the morning,” says Delgadillo.
His family even discussed getting a seeing eye dog, but then it was discovered that Delgadillo didn’t like dogs.
“I just don’t like the sound of dogs,” says Delgadillo.
Despite what media and the silver screen have speculated, Delgadillo did not get any buffs to his other senses and has yet to uncover a sixth sense, such as echolocation, although he admits that would be pretty cool.
He has, however, learned to not let his impairment stand in the way of his future.
He is not quite sure what he will do, but he is fairly certain that being blind will not play a big part in determining his success.
Should technology ever ad-vance to the point that he can get his sight back, Delgadillo is not limiting himself to what he will see.
“If I could see anything in the world, I would want to see everything,”Delgadillo said.
A light in the DarkBlind student perseveres to succeed in high school
by CHASEWELLSfeature editor
A School Day Stroll: Student Louis Delgadillo walks with his friend Quentyn Kuklish down the halls. Photo by Jack Hallowell
Related Documents
