Kansas City Compassionate Ministry Center, Grandma's House

The Gracious Promise Foundation

Through the Compassionate Ministry Center, Gra- cious Promise provides services, including food and clothing assistance, counseling, and shelter for families affected by the incarceration of a parent, guardian, or spouse. Grandma’s House is a new facility designed to provide care for infants born to incarcerated women and improve the quality of the mother-child relationship.

Description

Gracious Promise staff visit a nearby privately run presentencing holding facility at the Leavenworth Prison complex twice a week to reach out to incar- cerated individuals concerning family issues. They may also testify in court on behalf of offenders.

At the Compassionate Ministry Center, families of incarcerated individuals participate in workshops to identify problems and determine solutions to issues related to incarceration and reunification with a family member. Family coun- seling services (provided on a volunteer basis by a counseling services agency) and mentorship pro- grams are available, as is direct assistance in the form of clothing, groceries, or assistance paying utility bills. Additional services include STEPS, a GED program which serves high-risk youth offenders and some adult offenders who partici- pated in literacy programs while incarcerated. The Compassionate Ministry Center hosts a monthly roundtable of representatives of up to 48 criminal justice agencies and service providers to discuss linkages and gaps in serving released individuals. Some released individuals work at the Compassionate Ministry Center to fulfill the community service requirements of their release plans.

Gracious Promise is currently building a Grandma’s House to provide care throughout the incarceration period for infants born to incarcer- ated women. Gracious Promise will facilitate 6 weeks of breastfeeding visits, weekly visits, parent- ing skills training for mothers, and planning for housing and career-track jobs for the period after release.