ANGIE — Later this year, Angie's Washington Correctional Institute will be one of two corrections facility's in the state to pilot a program which will bring inmates and their children together.
Felons bonding with their children in a prison day camp is a concept foreign to the correctional environment. Yet, Washington Correctional Institute in Angie will pioneer just such a camp at its facility in October.
WCI Warden James Miller said he heard about "One Day With God" camps from Scottie Barnes, founder of Forgiven Ministry. He talked to WCI Chaplain Wayne Cook about contacting Barnes about the possibility of bringing the program, initiated in North Carolina several years ago, to Louisiana.
She agreed to meet with Cook, but asked that he recommend a second Louisiana prison for the pilot program. Angola agreed and the fledgling program was scheduled.
Barnes, the daughter of an inmate, knew firsthand of the hurt generated by an incarcerated father. She wanted to do something to bring healing to the lives of the children of inmates.
"Children whose fathers are inmates have a much higher rate of incarceration than the general population," Barnes told a group of volunteers who recently met with her to plan WCI's day camp. "I believe these camps will have a positive impact on those statistics as children realize their fathers love them. . . We call it "One Day With God" because God is love and He is the only one who could have opened the gates of medium and maximum security prisons to children."
Warden Miller, Chaplain Cook and his clergy volunteers carefully chose the participating fathers for WCI's camp. The mothers, or other custodial caregivers, granted permission for the children to be sent an invitation to the camp.
Each child will spend a day with his or her father having fun, participating in worship and spending some quiet time talking through hurts. Fathers will prepare for the experience in an evening workshop on being a Dad, scheduled for the Friday evening before the camp.
At WCI, for the first time ever, a one-day workshop also will be available for the caregivers. This healing encounter will take place at a site in Bogalusa, while the children are at WCI.
Approximately 80 volunteers will give up a Saturday to make "One Day With God" possible. They will spend countless hours of preparation over the next nine weeks to make the camp a success.
If everything goes well, Miller and Cook plan to make the camp a semi-annual event at WCI.
"I believe this camp has great potential to bring hope to the lives of children and give inmates a reason to straighten out their lives," Warden Miller said.
"Jesus held children in high esteem," Cook added. "He welcomed them with open arms. He said that anyone who led children down the wrong path would be better off drowned with a millstone around his neck. At WCI, we want to bring a blessing to the lives of children whose fathers are locked up. We believe this camp will impact the future of both the children and the fathers."
For more information about "One Day With God" camps, visit forgivenministry.org. Anyone wishing to volunteer time for this effort can contact volunteer coordinators Jan and Mike Stevens at 985-626-1357.
