Hutchins State Jail (Male) and Dawson State Jail (Female)

     Voices of HOPE (VOH) began in 2001 when volunteers from Highland Park Presbyterian Church Prison Ministry began going into Hutchins State Jail, a men's facility south of Dallas.  VOH addresses the needs of the children of incarcerated parents.  The VOH volunteers assist offenders in reading children's stories into audiotapes, which are then mailed along with a copy of the books to their children.  This gives both the children and their parents an opportunity to establish a bond, which can be strengthened upon release.  About one and one-half years later, the program was extended to the women at Dawson State Jail, Dallas.   

      Dale Truitt, Director of VOH has been with the program since it began. Ms. Truitt says  that one of the most neglected pieces of the “recidivism puzzle” is the child of an incarcerated parent.  Many of the parents, particularly the men, have never read a story to their children, if they were present in their children’s lives at all. 

      Ms. Truitt says they receive many letters of thanks and appreciation from the children who receive the tapes. The Voices of HOPE program won the Governor's Award for the Most Innovative Program for  the year of 2002.

NEEDS: VOLUNTEERS; AUDIO RECORDS; CASSETTE TAPES; CHILDREN'S BOOKS; OR DONATIONS TO PURCHASE THESE ITEMS.
 

Send items or checks payable to Texas HOPE Literacy care of Lucy Smith, Texas HOPE Literacy, PO Box 905, Hurst, TX 76053.  Please mark items and donations for "Voices of HOPE".

For your convenience you can make your cash donations online.

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