Our 2009 beneficiary is Lydia's Place!

Founded in 1993, this organization focuses on providing a variety of services to women and children, helping them to rebuild their lives.

The number of women incarcerated nationally and locally has increased both nationally and locally by 500% since 1980, particularly as a result of tougher drug laws. In Allegheny County alone, approximately 5,000 women are incarcerated each year at the Allegheny County Jail. This translates to 7,000 children each day who have an incarcerated mother.

These children reside in every school district in the county, and three-fourths are under the age of thirteen. Sadly, the numbers are continuing to rise and Lydia’s Place is now seeing a second generation of parents and children who are being incarcerated.

Studies have shown that parental imprisonment can have profound negative effects on the family. Children of incarcerated parents are more likely than their peers to show developmental delays, have difficulty in school, suffer emotional trauma and stress, be referred for mental health counseling, engage in early sexual activity, develop substance abuse disorders, and become involved in the criminal cycle themselves. To complicate matters, many children of prisoners are placed in family situations with severely limited cash resources to address these unique needs.

Lydia’s Place has a dual mission: To serve incarcerated and recently released female offenders and to serve the children of incarcerated parents.

During the past year, Lydia’s Place has focused more intensively on the needs of the children of an incarcerated parent, working to strengthen the family unit. They believe strongly that in order to arrest the cycle of intergenerational incarceration, it is critical to provide services to both mothers and children simultaneously. Lydia’s dual approach is the result of years of experience that have demonstrated that you cannot effectively help one group without helping the other. Lydia’s Place is very proud of their work on behalf of the children and all of their fundraising requests will support these efforts.

For more information on this organization, please visit Lydia's Place.