Donors Make Life Sweeter for Look Up and Hope Families
Times are tough. But they’re even tougher for some of Volunteers of America’s clients across northern New England.
Over the holidays, the organization’s “Look Up and Hope” program received donations of groceries, toiletries, gift cards, and wrapped gifts and delivered them to seven of the program’s neediest families (representing 14 children). “Our donors made this possible — no one else,” says program director Mary O’Leary. “We’re deeply indebted to them for their big heart and real generosity.”
Look Up and Hope is an innovative program offering case management, financial aid, mediation, and other services for the children (and their caregivers) of parents who are incarcerated. It served 11 Maine families (representing 20 children) in 2011.
- A seven-year-old girl living in extreme poverty in half a trailer with her stepfather was quiet but obviously excited about her presents.
- An entire family huddled around the gifts we delivered, eager to see what goodies were brought to them; even their dog was happy about the bones that were included.
- A woman caring for her grandchildren cried tears of thanks and relief as boxes and bags were carried into her home. She had quit her job to help ease her granddaughter’s emotional and behavioral challenges, and her husband had recently filed for divorce, leaving with little warning.
- A little girl asked the person who delivered to her family if he was Santa Claus!
“These families are really struggling financially,” says Mary. “Some of them have literally no extra money at the end of the month. I know that an armful of dolls, Tonka trucks, and Christmas hams can’t change that. But — thanks to our donors — they can give our fellow human beings a little bit of hope, relief, and happiness. And that’s something genuine, and worth a lot.”
Mary adds that another key benefit of Look Up and Hope is that it helps keep client families better connected to their communities. “Because of the perceived stigma of having a family member in prison, families often feel isolated,” Mary explains. “By helping them feel more accepted, Look Up and Hope can help initiate positive change for their loved one.”
Look Up and Hope is one of only five programs of its kind to have been piloted so far by Volunteers of America’s national organization at affiliates across the U.S. It identifies and delivers an integrated range of research-based services in order to help support the children’s long-term success and break the cycle of family poverty and incarceration.