Domestic Violence Awareness Month at Grace Smith House (Aired June 25, 2023)

               

Once again, RadioRotary interviews Branka Bryan, Executive Director of Grace Smith House, a shelter in Dutchess Country for women (and some men) confronted with domestic violence. Grace Smith House started in 1981 and now serves over 2,500 victims each year. In October– Domestic Violence Awareness Month– a project designed to dramatize the effects of domestic violence once again is in local galleries in Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck. The Grace Smith House Clothesline Project is a powerful visual display of t-shirts created by survivors of domestic violence, or their loved ones. Each shirt is decorated to represent a particular victim's experience. The t-shirts are on display at local art galleries. The Purple Ribbon Project in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month is for students and staff at Bard College and Dutchess Community College to tie a purple ribbon onto a tree branch. Each ribbon represents support for survivors of domestic violence. Along with the ribbons, lawn signs showcase domestic violence statistics and Grace Smith House resources

Learn More
Grace Smith House: https://www.gracesmithhouse.org/
Domestic Violence Services, Dutchess County: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Community-Family-Services/Domestic-Violence.htm
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month: https://nationaltoday.com/national-domestic-violence-awareness-month/

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August 13, 2023 · Posted in Domestic Violence, Support Groups, Women  

Rotary 2022 Convention in Houston – part 2 (Aired on July 17, 2022)

Once again Radio Rotary reports from the annual Rotary Convention, this year in Houston, TX, where Dave and Kathy Kruger interviewed representatives of organizations that work with Rotary to make a difference in the world. Stephen Popper, president and CEO of Meals of Hope, tells about how that organization partners with Rotary clubs to pack five different nutritious meals for food pantries to disperse. Razia Jan relates the story of how she, as an Afghan native living in Massachusetts, came to found two free schools to educated girls and women in
Afghanistan, still thriving despite the Taliban government. Gemma Sisia used her Rotary connections to found the School of St. Jude, which educates nearly 2,000 impoverished Africans annually as well as supplying volunteer teachers for Tanzanian government school. President and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders, Prabha Sankaranarayan leads Mediators Beyond Borders International, an official Service Partner of Rotary International that has been working for peace since 1910. The fifteen international Service Partner—organizations such as ShelterBox and Habitat for Humanity—work closely with Rotary but also maintain separate chartable operations.

Learn More:
Houston Rotary Convention: https://convention.rotary.org/en/houston
Meals of Hope: https://mealsofhope.org/
Razia’s Ray of Hope: https://raziasrayofhope.org/
School of St. Jude: https://www.schoolofstjude.org/
Mediators Beyond Boarders International: https://mediatorsbeyondborders.org/
Service Partners of Rotary International: https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/partners

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Helping Children of Incarcerated Mothers (Aired on April 24, 2022)

         

 

Hour Children connects incarcerated mothers with their children, who stay for a few days with volunteer families living near correctional facilities while they visit their jailed mothers. Radio Rotary welcomes back Dr. Alethea Taylor, executive director of Hour Children, along with Kate Paletta, an Hour Children volunteer for the past 18 years. Ms. Paletta cares for children of the incarcerated mother for a few days so that the children can visit their mothers at nearby Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. Bedford Hills provides a parenting center for the visits. The visiting children interact also with Kate’s four children, often forming lasting relationships. The Hour Children program raises money and brings host families, children, and mothers together at an annual Mother’s Day luncheon.

Learn More:
Hour Children: https://hourchildren.org/
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women: https://prisoninsight.com/correctional-facilities/state/new-york/bedford-hills-correctional-facility/
Recidivism in Women’s Prisons: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2019/07/19/reentry/

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Program Helps Families of Incarcerated Mothers (Aired on March 6, 2022)

Hour Children is a remarkable group of programs that, among other assistance, connects incarcerated mothers with their children. Its name acknowledges the key hours that impact the life of a child with an incarcerated mother – the hour of her arrest, the hour of their visit, and the hour of their reunification. In this show, RadioRotary welcomes Dr. Alethea Taylor, executive director of Hour Children, and her friend Laura, who is the house manager of one of the five Hour Children communal residences that provide a supportive environment for women starting the reentry process and reuniting with their children. The guests describe how Hour Children assists women incarcerated at Bedford Hills and Taconic Correctional Facilities, both located in Bedford Hills, New York, and the Rose M. Singer Center located in New York City, with facilities for parenting education and even a nursery for mothers who give birth behind bars. Listen for the many other
services from Hour Children.

Learn More:
Hour Children: https://hourchildren.org/
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women: https://prisoninsight.com/correctional-facilities/state/new-york/bedford-hills-correctional-facility/
Rose M Singer Center at Riker’s Island: https://www.cobanyc.org/rose-m-singer-center

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