The men and women inside Arlington County’s Detention Facility got a chance to interact with their children sans any barriers between them.
In a six-week program aimed at helping inmates with their parenting skills, children were able to hug, hold and kiss their parents without a thick glass between them and phones used to communicate.
“To see their mom or dad where it’s not a scary place,” Director Kristin Cane said. “They come here and they say ‘oh, mom and dad are OK.’ “
The program has commenced for many years and this year’s theme for the event was “The Circus.”
Inmates at the facility couldn’t hold back their excitement at the simple pleasure of interacting with their children without a barricade between them.
“This means the world to me,” Dasean Drummone, an Arlington County inmate said.
The children also loved the time they spent with their parents. “I can’t remember when I last saw you laughing,” a young girl reportedly said to her father.
For one night, and only 2 hours, these Arlington County inmates get to visit face-to-face with their young children without a thick glass window in between. @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/qY9p8acJst
— Caroline Patrickis (@Cpatrickis) June 4, 2019
“I haven’t seen my child in a year and her being here is special,” another inmate Keith Parker said
Drummone said the program has enriched him in ways he didn’t know he needed.
“It teaches you a lot. Stuff I never knew about like free painting at Home Depot and a rack of various stuff that you can do, and it’s not always about money. It’s just about the genuine time, they don’t care about the money. They care about just being with you.”
