Ok messages

I ran into a dear friend and she told me about OK Messages Project — a program her parents Cheri and Holmes were leading and I knew right then and there I had to be a part of it.

Other than an occasional letter or phone call, there is no contact with the outside world. Prison is a dark, oppressive place and when OMP is on the yard we are a bright shining light of love and support.

I needed to hear that.

Nothing feels better than making a difference and I know that on filming days when our team sets up in the gym or the chapel we have made a difference just by being there. All these children need to do is hit play for a personal message from their incarcerated parent. There truly is no more meaningful way to spend my time!

Being a parent to my own children is the most important thing in my life so to be afforded the opportunity to help cultivate that relationship with others is beyond rewarding. What is the biggest personal benefit you receive from your time within the OK Messages experience?

For so many children these videos are the only time they get to see their moms, d and grandparents. Yep, this is how we do it. Three times each year, a party of volunteers goes into Oklahoma prisons, and record inmates reading to their children.

During the pandemic, isolation is especially difficult. Thank you for your support!

Ok messages project | breaking the cycle of incarceration

Studies show story time boosts literacy, builds confidence and bonds families. We have deed our own protocol to transmit any private data, while also using well-known protection algorithms, like TLS cryptographic protocol. What makes this volunteer experience a meaningful use of your time?

We have created thousands of fun stickers to help you share your emotions, and if you are not in the mood to chat; we have channels too! As soon as the donated book mesages shipped to us, we will then immediately ship it to our kids! The wishlist has books selected specifically to encourage and engage children during this difficult time.

But the main goal is stop the cycle of incarceration. When they see these, they feel like mom or dad is in the room with them. We are also sending them an encouraging letter with the book they receive. Children with an incarcerated parents are seven messafes more likely to serve time at some point.

You can still read chat history and watch media files. It was pretty serendipitous actually! After watching the documentary 13th and reading the novel Idaho, the crisis of mass incarceration and particularly the mass incarceration of women here in Oklahoma was so very troubling to me. We are cooking some messzges new features for you right now, use TamTam Messenger and stay tuned.

More coming soon! My mom tells me she sometimes freezes the screen and says mommy is with her.