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NewsMay 2008The Watkinson Prisoners' Aid Society Awards Grant to Renovate Kitchen CSI was recently awarded $4,000 from the Watkinson Prisoners' Aid Society to renovate the kitchen and supplement the life skill education program at Hartford House located in Hartford, CT. CSI will match the award with funds from another foundation or proceeds from the annual charity golf tournament. Hartford House is a reentry program for 23 female clients referred from the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). It is also one of the few Mothers and Infants Nurtured Together (MINT) programs in the country. This is a confinement placement for pregnant clients. At the program, the women receive prenatal care at a local hospital, give birth and bond with their babies for three months following birth. Groups cover prepared childbirth, parenting classes, life skills, nutritional education and healthy relationships. At the close of the program, some clients transition to the community whereas others return to a secure setting after making arrangements for the care of the baby. The updated kitchen will provide these women with the facility and life skills education needed to help them become more self-sufficient. Clients will use the updated kitchen during breakfast every day and on holidays to prepare communal meals and also to provide snacks for themselves and when their children who visit. A "new" kitchen will provide them with a sense of family as well as an opportunity to learn behaviors and skills to work towards returning to their own families and communities successfully. The renovated kitchen will provide these women with the facility and life skills education needed to help them become more self-sufficient and will offer them a sense of family as they learn behaviors and skills to work towards returning to their own families and communities. Clients will use the renovated kitchen to prepare communal meals and also to provide snacks for themselves and when their children visit. |