It’s almost too difficult to imagine. What if you were a child going through this crisis and you couldn’t talk to your parents? That’s the harsh reality hundreds of Detroit kids are facing right now, but an organization is stepping in to try and help fill that void.
“So recently I have been dealing with my siblings and we've been dealing with our father, because he's currently incarcerated,” said Victoria Henry.
16-year old Victoria Henry is considered the glue that holds her family together, “I’m a big sister of five. A lot of times, I have to be the strong one over my family because it's like I have to put on a strong face. I might not be hurting inside but I have to put on a strong face for my siblings,” said Henry.
And that heavy burden is taking a toll on her, because she’s no longer able to talk to or see her father who is incarcerated, because of COVID-19. Local 4 learned as of early May, 206 employees with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office have Coronavirus and 29 inmates at the Wayne County Jail have tested positive. Those alarming numbers forced the jail to cancel all visits from family members, “That's hard because even hearing his voice was the sweetest thing so it's like, even if you could like you can't see a person but hearing a voice is like okay,” said Henry.
But Henry said having Sherell Hogan with Pure Heart Foundation helps. It’s an organization that assists teens whose parents are incarcerated, “Even in response to COVID-19 so now we'll be providing mental health support a hotline that they can call anytime where they need to talk to anyone will do fitness and wellness Virtual Training parents and classes and mentorship session sessions,” said Sherelle Hogan with Pure Heart Foundation.
“I just want to let everybody know that children of incarcerated parents still matter their voice in their stories is still very relevant, even more so now,” said Hogan.