Annual
General Meeting 2007
Children
Visiting Prisons held its 5th Annual General Meeting, for
2007, on January 22nd 2008, in the Community Room of the
new Kingston Police Station. There were 15 brave souls who
ventured forth on a very nasty January night. They were
impressed with the new space, and with the well-stocked
children's corner just inside the main entrance where
families can wait with their children when necessary.
*Joyce
Waddell-Townsend
*Louann den Otter
*Mandi Crowder
*Francoise Bessette
*Laura MacLean
Meredith Rady
(*returning
Directors)
The guest
speaker, Kim Pate, Executive Director of the Canadian
Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, spoke very
eloquently about the issues faced by many incarcerated
parents and the importance of documenting some of the
incidents that diminish their self-esteem. Two
students from the Queen's University Documentary Film
Studies program recorded the evening. A CD which includes
this and other footage about CVP is available on request
for a very modest sum. A Silent Auction was held
which raised $55.00 much need dollars for our
cause.
This month we will be taking part in the John Howard
Society's Pre-Release Fairs on June 10th, 11th and 12th. We
will be offering a discussion & sharing workshop based
on some of the books we have about children with an
incarcerated parent. We will also be taking the opportunity
to ask inmates to respond to a questionnaire about our
story and craft sessions in the V&C areas. Part
of the purpose is to evaluate our
program.
Since last December Joyce and Laura have been consulting
with staff and inmates at Millhaven to refurbish the
children's area in their V&C. The Inmate
Committee has been most generous with funds for the
purpose.
We have added the novel "Jakeman" by Deborah Ellis to our
list of resources. It is a tale of a group of CAS
children who are in a bus on their way to their monthly
visit with their incarcerated mothers.