PLAN (Parent Legislative Action Network), led by advocate Joyce McMillan, organized a “Black Families Matter” rally on July 18 protesting ACS and family separation.
Here, Shamara Kelly and Tenisha Sanders, recent Rise & Shine graduates, share why it was important to them to attend.
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Nancy Fortunato, Senior Parent Leader, and Jeanette Vega, Training Director at Rise, submitted written testimony to the NY State Assembly Committee on Children and Families and the Task Force on Women’s Issues as part of a public hearing in Albany, NY, November 21, 2019.
“At the city and state level, affected communities and parents should guide decisions about how to use available funds to best meet the needs of our communities and families.”
My son was in several daycare centers starting when he was 6 weeks old. I checked them all out carefully and, in all of them, my son was almost always happy when I picked him up. I felt secure. My worries started when I moved him to a daycare that was close to our home. From the beginning, I was alarmed when I’d come to pick up my son. The kids were screaming and running around. Then my son started telling me daily about different kids hitting him.
There came a time when there’d been four incidents in seven days! I felt hopeless and angry. I thought of a time when a foster parent had told me that I wasn’t allowed to sit on the couch because it was only for their children, not foster children. I felt like I always felt as a child in the system: that no one cared. I felt like no one was there to support me or my child. But I also wanted to grow from being that foster child to a successful parenting adult. So that night I decided to email the director.
Nancy Fortunato, Senior Parent Leader at Rise, testified at the October 31, 2019 hearing of the General Welfare Committee.