Here are some progress shots of the glass work that is going on in my studio, as well as a few shots of the mural in progress both in the studio and at workshops.
(originally posted on 3/20/12 @ blog.ericokdeh.com)
We are only warehousing prisoners. There is no real effort on rehabilitation. One in every 100 in America in jail. We need to focus on prevention of problems instead of paying $60,000 a year to incarcerate.
My sister is in prison, everyday my mom cries. She will die before her daughter gets out. Very sad for all of us.
I have not visited her yet, there is still anger, shame, stigma, and disappointment.
Very sad for all of us.
No, I do not visit my uncle, because I like to stay focused on matters that are important, and HE made that decision to be there.
These facts leave me with a lot of negative feelings. Makes me look upon my own childhood and the many instances that could have led to my demise.
My mother is incarcerated, I do not talk to her. Adopted at 9, still scarred, but never held down by the weight or pain.
I do not visit, I do not wish to reopen those wounds as life is finally good to me.
It takes time…
To write to them,
To listen to them when they call,
To take half of the day to visit,
Its costly and affects our budget gas to visit and money for food.
One area that should be decriminalized is drug use. People in general should realize that there but for the grace of God goes I. Those who are hurting, hurt people and themselves. We are all sinners in a fallen world. The one and only hope in or Lord God.
My brother is incarcerated and I always have underlying sadness.
I dont visit as often as I should because it gets me depressed. Then I feel guilty because of Matthew 25 in the bible.
I am a single parent and its just sad that we are losing our children’s fathers to prison society and our children have to suffer. Most of the fathers are good supporters, but make wrong decisions on how they support, and be a role model for their children.
Having an incarcerated family member makes me appreciate my freedom, and value family. Because you never know when you can lose them to jail, and/or death.
My future husband and poppy to my grandchildren is incarcerated. His pre release date was never fulfilled, we were all looking forward to that date, Now here it is a year later and he’s still not home, It sucks.
We visit because thats his only way to get to see us, this system gives us no other choice.
Having an incarcerated family member impacts my daily routine, due to the fact that I am the sole provider for my household, that I have lost the one person I can depend on, and the hurt of missing him and watching my grandchildren miss him is hard.
Everything falls on my shoulders. Sometimes it seems as if I am carrying the weight of the word alone. But through it all God continues to bless me because there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that is a hope that I can look forward to him returning home soon one day.
So I am not complaining because I know that is not the case for as many others who will never see freedom, or be with their families again.
For the past year, I have been working in conjunction with my mural class at Graterford Prison, various ex-offender organizations on the streets and families of the incarcerated throughout the city. The theme of our collaborations, and my subsequent mural explores the impact of incarceration on Philadelphia families. Family Interrupted is my growing multidisciplinary project, that contains the input, stories, and hard work of over 100 contributors as of this date.
Mural Arts and I have partnered with the Pennsylvania Prison Society and their facilitator Anne Shwartzmann, running workshops with groups of people and organizations (such as M.I.M.I.C. based in North Philadelphia) across the city, as well as in the Prison Society, Graterford, and St Gabriel’s Hall.
These participants are impacted by incarceration at various levels. For example, The Graterford Class and their families are looking at 20 plus years of separation, one man in my class will be behind bars for his 40th year this year. These men have seen the face of their entire family change in that time, and yet there are dedicated family members that frequently visit and write out of loyalty, and responsibility. In St Gabriel’s Hall, youth can qualify for weekend furloughs to see their families, and then go back to jail during the week.
Since the mid 90’s only 5 men have ever received commutations on their life sentences, we have worked with 3 of these men for this project as well as men who have served their time and have been released. They have shared their experiences about the reintegration process within their communities and their own families; most memorably to an audience of the teens and young adults of Mural Arts’ Youth Violence Reduction Program. These forums were not the only way in which people can become involved in the project.
The Guild program under Janice Smith has constructed 12 mailboxes, painted by myself and the Graterford program. These boxes are placed in various Prison visit waiting rooms, the Prison Society, Main branch of the Public Library, City Hall, The Gallery at Market East and in the neighborhood of the mural. Each box comes with a questionnaire that invites the participant to share their experiences in having a loved one or family member incarcerated. We are aiming to hear directly from the families while they are waiting for their visitation, a time when they may just want to vent, and be heard. We also look to hear from a broader audience that may or may not be affected by this at all. Each box advertises the project, provides pamphlets with resources, points to the project website, and provides the following statistics as food for thought…
Did you know?
The third way people can participate, even long after the mural is finished, is through the website I created familyinterruptedproject.com. The site was devised as a companion piece that runs concurrently through the life of the mural project and beyond. It acts as a way to provide people with a forum, while at the same time give an outside observer insight into their experiences. The site also provides resources to the families, as well as audio and video from our workshops and updates and press about the project. The site will live on long after the project ends, and my goal is to have the conversation continue. I’ve always searched for a way to include the outside observer during my seven years working in Graterford. I’ve always wished that there could be a way that more people could hear the results of our workshops, read some of the writing, be moved by people’s stories in the same way we are moved that night. I feel that by recording our sessions and posting the audio to our user generated site, we’ve made a big step in the right direction.
My design took its inspiration from all of the families and people who opened themselves up, opened their homes up to me, brought their children, and shared their stories. The mural will be painted on the corner of Germantown Ave and Dauphin. The “w” shaped wall lends itself nicely to the narrative of the design. The “incarcerated” right side of the wall is tucked slightly away from view at first glance, the full story truly opens up to you once you get closer. It contains the faces and stories of ex-offenders and those still behind bars. Its about how their incarceration affected and forever warped their families, and the great sense of loss that takes place when loved ones pass on. The “family” face of the site shows the words, images, and thoughts from the men, women, and children left behind to carry on. Newly christened breadwinners raising a family on their own and maintaining relationships across great distances to keep the family together. Both sides look and reach toward each other over the center of the design that depicts visiting room life, and its fragmented moments of family interaction. These scenes are interspersed among vignettes of the media, government, and general public opinion which can serve to further complicate that limited interaction.
The church windows (which mimic the church building next to the wall) and the silhouetted figures within each portrait are currently being cut from Stained glass and mirror in my studio.
The design contains a large amount of scannable codes that anyone with a smart phone can scan, using their phone’s camera to have an enhanced experience of the mural. These codes are text based and directly linked to the familyinterruptedproject.com and its content. A passer by can scan a code within the mural and be taken to a number of audio clips from our workshops with the Prison Society. You can hear these stories straight from the person. A number of codes take you to pages of the site. Most notably, you can even be taken to the “Share Your Story” page of the site and contribute on the spot! I feel that the timing is right and there is a real ability to interact with the mural, listen and learn, and then respond.
click the thumbs to expand
(originally posted on 1/3/12 @ blog.ericokdeh.com)
Shared Anonymously
I’ve always questioned why there’s never enough money for libraries, but always enough for prisons. We are presently building a set of new buildings which will replace the old Graterford. We become what we invest in. If we invest in problems they grow, if we invest in solutions instead the solutions grow and the problems shrink.
It cost 35 to 40,000 dollars a year to place someone in Philadelphia prisons. Couldn’t this money be better spent investing in the same people? Prisons take over 25 percent of city budgets. Incarceration creates a big hole in a family and community. Children self esteem is destroyed when their fathers are removed from their lives and placed in prison. Not only is the father or son removed from the family, he also fails to be a contributor, both personally and financially.
My suggestion is this: the city should purchase entire city blocks of run down homes. (This could be in Kensington, North Philadelphia, or Southwest Philadelphia). They are only going to return to the same neighborhood upon release. Rebuild the homes and turn them into half way houses for nonviolent offenders. This would cost approximately 1/10 or less than an incarceration. These individuals would then be mandated to attend a programs to address their drug and alcohol, G&D, Vocational Training, or psychological issues utilizing community resources. This would likely cost 3500 to 4000 dollars a year.
Inmates could also be placed on work release as migrant workers, street cleaners, or employed to rebuild the neighborhood that they help tear down. Under the supervision of security and trained builders. The money these men earn can be put toward housing expenses so that their incarceration doesnt cost the taxpayer. Also, their money can be used towards child support, so that they and their children are less dependent on the system.
Incarceration on families involves some heartache, shattered images of each other, and hopefully (if all parties work really hard) rehabilitation and new beginnings for reentry; building strong relations back up with family members and loved ones too.
I grew up dealing with a father that went in and out of prison most of my life, and now my little cousin is looking at a life sentence. Everyday is a constant reminder that my cousin is sitting in prison, and cannot be there for our family. He misses happy and sad occasions, and is able to see his son grow up.
I’ve been to see my cousin and I will continue to go because people in jail need to be reminded that there are people on the outside still care and love them.
My father is in federal prison. It doesn’t affect me because my father was never in my life. But I’ve visited my uncle and my father. I visit people in prison because I know how it is to be in prison and have no one.
My son is incarcerated and we as a family love and miss him terribly. We long for his presence, he has 2 children that need him. We visit as a family as much as we can.
Knowing they are existing in hell means we are all existing in hell
I have a family member that is incarcerated and he is the father of my kids, and I too have been incarcerated. It was hard for me to put money on his books and to take his son up there to visit him.
Having an incarcerated family member makes me feel like I’m unsure of what might happen. I never feel safe. I don’t visit because I don’t want to see him in there. Too many raw emotions come out. I don’t want to upset him.
Having an incarcerated family member is difficult because we have to take care of him financially and it is hard bringing the kids and having to explain what jail is. It’s hard watching loved ones die and he cannot be here. I have to visit because I don’t want him to feel lost or alone. I want him to have hope.
