When I (Erica) was a 19-year-old college student, I went to visit my mother at her Panama City Beach home. While I was there the police arrived. They turned the Florida home upside down and handcuffed my mom.
My mother, like many people in the criminal justice system today, struggles with addiction. She had unknowingly been buying drugs from an undercover cop. And so began a time in my life where I assumed the role of parent, bailing my mother out of jail and keeping in touch with my father after his own arrest.
There were other arrests, more charges, prison time for dad, and probation for both of my parents and parole for my father. Now, at age 34, I can say that I've had a front-row seat to what it’s like serving time alongside a loved one who is behind bars.
