Ben & Jerry’s awards justice center grant to help children with incarcerated parents

NEWPORT — The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation has awarded the local justice center in Newport with a $7,500 grant to create change. This is the second award they have made to the center for this work.

The Orleans County Restorative Justice Center has been working for about a year to raise awareness about the experiences and needs of children with incarcerated parents.

The goal now is to provide widespread training to education and other community entities, ensure that communication with incarcerated parents is encouraged, and that children are prioritized at all levels of parental arrest, incarceration, and re-entry actions.

According to Barbara Morrow, OCRJC Executive Director, this grant helps the center coordinate so that children receive the necessary comfort and care they require.

“When we prioritize their needs, our procedures, policies, and processes are examined with more scrutiny for unintended effects,” Morrow said. “We’re grateful that many law enforcement and care agencies already understand how important this is. What’s needed is more coordination and broadening of services.”

Morrow notes that North County Supervisory Union is already “stepping to the plate” with extra care and concern and the Newport Probation and Parole office is also partnering in the effort, along with the Orleans County Sherrif’s Office, and Newport Police.

The Resilience Beyond Incarceration project in Lamoille county is another important partner in local work.

For more information, contact the Orleans County Restorative Justice Center at 802-487-9327 or visit www.kingdomjustice.org.