Daryl Rogers

You got to face it to fix it.

I come from generational incarceration. My father, my cousins, my sister, my brother. I was mentally incarcerated at 4 years old. I have a master's degree in counselling, I could talk to people about their issues, but the person I needed to taIk to was myself. After I got out of prison I became a general contractor and fashion designer. I did over 900 clothing sketches in prison. I had a prayer: "Father, let there be reconciliation." My daughters visited me in 2008 when I was incarcerated for the last time. My oldest daughter interrupted me and said, "Dad, we are in prison too. - When there is a father/daughter dance, when you are not there for all the things a child needs a father for because you are in here, then we are in prison too." My daughters and I have a program - Dad We Are In Prison Too. We give children a chance to talk about family scars and the hurt. This gives children of incarceration an opportunity for healing and reconciliation. That's a missing piece.