The Messages Project
I was doing my usual work on the computer the other day while watching CNN (of which I am a self proclaimed CNN junkie). All of a sudden I heard Holly Robinson Peate say, “the last thing people think about are children of incarcerated parents.” Suddenly I was at full attention as the CNN Heroes project followed Carolyn LeCroy‘s organization The Messages Project.
I was truly blown away, because in all my research, I’ve yet to find organizations that are focused on children of incarcerated parents and the prisoners themselves. As a daughter of an incarcerated parent, this is the work I want to do and I want to do it through theater and entertainment.
As I gear up for the Hollywood Fringe Festival to perform my one-woman show Michael’s Daughter, I can’t help but to be overwhelmed with how massive this project is i.e. the rewrites, the marketing, the updating, and the money! I reached out to Carolyn and had a wonderful phone conversation with her, in which I inquired about getting involved. The main thing that she wanted to make clear was, it wasn’t about sticking a camera in prisoner’s faces and getting them to talk, it was more about mending families and the healing process. Then, my mission and purpose started becoming clearer. I want to help bring awareness of this issue as much as I can and this one-woman show is the start of that. Along with figuring out how I can get involved with organizations such as The Messages Project.
I wanted to highlight this organization because it reflects the themes and issues that I have written about in Michael’s Daughter. Please take a moment out to check it out and get involved as well!
Michael's Daughter 