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Dear John,
Happy Father’s Day! We celebrate our fathers, and our Members and staff who are fathers every day – but we are especially proud to celebrate them today.
Here at ARC, we often say we fight to end mass incarceration. For many, this gets interpreted as fighting for the incarcerated. For us, this means fighting not only for the incarcerated, but for the children of the 92% of men in prison that are fathers. We fight because at ARC we have a unique passion for honoring our often forgotten and misrepresented fathers who are incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated fathers, and we desire strongly that our fathers build solid, healthy relationships with their children both while incarcerated and after.
This Father's Day, ARC is celebrating the positive influence that fathers have on our lives while recognizing the pressing need for criminal legal reform. By raising awareness and advocating for change, we are creating a more equitable system that supports men who are seeking to be fathers and positive role models in the lives of their children. Too often our society minimizes and judges the men inside, deeming them as irreparable, overlooking the very thing so many incarcerated men yearn for, the ability to be fathers. Many men work as hard as they can to return to their children, learning about themselves and learning about their children so they could be the best father they can be while inside and upon reentry.
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I would like to share with you a testimony from two of our ARC Members who are fathers, Tommy Morris & Carlos Cervantes,
“Fatherhood means everything to me. It’s like the ultimate redemption. As someone who spent nearly a decade of my life incarcerated and separated from my family, I’ve lived with a lot of shame, regret, and guilt as it pertains to being a man and being there for one’s family. Today, I have a beautiful little girl and 2 amazing boys, and I take the responsibility of being a parent very seriously."
-Tommy Morris
“The people that continue to change my life, are my children. My daughter and my son... When my daughter was born, I was in prison, it was very difficult and extremely painful for me and my wife because I wasn’t there. For the birth of my son, I was able to take time off of work and be there fully to take care of my wife and my son. I was able to cut the umbilical cord and see him cry and hold him. ARC honored our new addition to our family by allowing me 8 weeks to enjoy a time so precious. A time that we needed to bond. A time to fall in love with life.”
-Carlos Cervantes
Remember, change happens when fathers like Tommy, Carlos and our community come together with a shared vision and purpose in the hopes of restoring families.
This Father's Day, let us honor the fathers in our lives while advocating for a fairer and more compassionate criminal legal system. Thank you as always for your support of our work. I hope you will consider making a gift ([link removed]) today in honor of all the men and women impacted by incarceration.
Sincerely,
Sam Lewis
Executive Director
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)
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