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News
June 10, 2022

Assia Serrano discusses the important role the Parenting Center played in her relationship with her children. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://hourchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Hour-Mothers-Day_-Assias-Story.mp4" poster="https://hourchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/739b6448-eef8-fbdf-3309-5452c4b7f08f.png"][/video]   Judy Clark, Hour Children's Community Justice Advocate, speaks about her time with her daughter made possible through the Parenting Center's Summer Program. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://hourchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Hour-Mothers-Day_-Judys-Story.mp4" poster="https://hourchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/445ae695-b3ba-cfae-2cfb-138416e400aa.png"][/video]    ...

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News
June 3, 2022

  Queens-based Hour Children has helped incarcerated women get their lives back on track through various services, one being a visiting program for children, like the summer one operated in conjunction with Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and Taconic Correctional Facility. The seven-day program helps give mothers and their kids an opportunity to visit each other for...

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News
March 14, 2022

Check out Extra Butter's interviews with the women of Hour Children. [edgtf_button size="" type="" text="Read the interviews from Extra Butter here" custom_class="" icon_pack="font_awesome" fa_icon="" link="https://extrabutterny.com/blogs/community/honoring-the-women-of-hour-children" target="_self" color="" hover_color="" background_color="" hover_background_color="" border_color="" hover_border_color="" font_size="" font_weight="" margin=""]...

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News
January 27, 2022

Hour Children, the Long Island City-based provider of services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children in New York State, announced Monday, Jan. 3, a major transition in leadership. Founder and Executive Director Sister Tesa Fitzgerald has, after more than 35 years of service, moved on from her leadership role to take on...

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News
January 24, 2022

To support people's loved ones inside the Rose M. Singer Center Correctional Facility on Rikers Island, Hour Children's Visiting and Family Assistance Program provides in-person and virtual services to people detained at the Rose M. Singer Center. Hour Children and the Osborne Association partnered in the spring of 2021 to meet the needs of justice involved people and their families in order...

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News
January 24, 2022

When I have a visit with my kids, I forget the pain of prison for a little while. I just get to be a mom.   For over 20 years, Hour Children has been present at Taconic Correctional Facility, New York State's medium security prison in Westchester County - helping mothers and children to remain lovingly engaged with one another during the painful time apart...

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News
January 24, 2022

For many years, there was a mural on a wall in the playroom of the Children's Center at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility that read, Joy is unbreakable so it is perfectly safe in the hands of children. That mural no longer graces the playroom; however, the spirit it sought to convey is very much alive at Bedford Hills -...

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News
January 24, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on Hour Community Food Pantry. On average, Hour Pantry served 450 visitors weekly from a diverse population. When the coronavirus pandemic began, we saw that number increase to a high of approximately 800 per week. We still see new faces at each of the three weekly distribution days, as the pandemic continues to...

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News
January 24, 2022

Hour Working Women Program (HWWP) has been through a period of transition. Throughout all of it the participants have been committed to the workshops and classes, their professional futures, and, as always, have been the driving force in the success of the program. This fall, HWWP opened its doors once again to the community, offering...

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News
January 24, 2022

"It's like you can be a kid again," says Mercedes Lopez, Program Coordinator at the Tots Program. "Even when you play with them, you forget how they think. It's interesting to see their perspective on things as opposed to yours. You never would have thought of that if you didn't see it from a child's perspective."  Mercedes works with children three months to four-years-old whose mothers...

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News
January 24, 2022

My Mother's House and Astoria House are often one of the first places people visit when they come to Hour Children after incarceration. Both serve as supportive, communal housing that prioritizes community and routine. Safe, affordable housing is crucial for people in the re-entry process, however, the systems in place create barriers to people being released, making it hard for them to find a place to live. Hour Children operates six housing units across the...

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News
January 24, 2022

When a family gathers at the table, love surrounds and embraces each member, providing a safe and welcoming space for them to grow and thrive. Hour Children's story is steeped in this love, for we provide that welcoming space for families to reunite and grow. The love and dedication of Hour Prison Program staff is evident as...

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News
January 24, 2022

The table is, for many of us, a place to gather with family and friends, a place of encouragement, of love, of sharing. For countless Hour women and children, we are that table. Steadied by the support of Hour programs, the women who begin their journey with Hour Children at Bedford and Taconic Correctional Facilities and the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers Island, come to Hour table full of hope and eagerness to participate. Hour...

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News
December 7, 2021

City Harvest used a grant to support food banks in the city, including one run by Hour Children in Queens. Hour Children focuses on serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, but also has a food pantry that is open to all community members. During the pandemic, the pantry began serving about 200 people a day,...

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News
April 7, 2021

“There is a time for everything and for every purpose under heaven”This familiar passage from Ecclesiastes has been holding my heart and soul as I made the decision to seek a successor to lead Hour Children echoing in a promising future. It is time. “A time to be born and a time to die” Thirty-five years ago,...

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News
April 7, 2021

For thirteen of Hour families, 2021 is already rich in memories! After years of faithfully taking on the work of re-entry, and months of packing and preparation, they each received the key to a beautiful apartment in a newly-constructed building, The Meridian. Learn more about Janvena Minter's journey to her new apartment in this video. ...

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News
April 7, 2021

A word of acknowledgement to our friends at Kibou, for their generous support! Since November 2020, Kibou has donated 1% of every sale to Hour Children. We are thrilled to welcome Kibou to Hour world and deeply grateful! Founded by New York City mothers, Kibou specializes in the design and production of beautiful, functional diaper bags. Learn...

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News
April 7, 2021

Hour Working Women Program (HWWP) has seen considerable transformation since the onset of COVID-19. New remote programming and a change in leadership is taking the program on an evolutionary course. Updating for a post-COVID world is at the top of the team's mind as they look towards the future. The program is also excited to welcome...

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News
April 7, 2021

Visitors to Hour Children often comment on the hospitality they experience when coming through our doors. Hospitality is an integral part of our work. We take joy in welcoming friends, clients, and neighbors, and we take pride in creating spaces for them that are inviting, beautiful, and clean...

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News
March 17, 2021

Enjoy these images of life at three of our Long Island City programs. Infants and toddlers spend happy days together - learning, playing and making friends - at Hour Children Tots. Hour School Fun provides full-day care to school-aged children, and includes academic support, socialization and enrichment. Hour Children Community Food Pantry remains a vital...

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News
March 15, 2021

Jenny Polak's 'Offshore' installation at Socrates Sculpture Park is a "future monument" to prison abolition. The installation features pennant flags with written messages from incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals from both the Hour Children and Fortune Society community. "The 'Offshore' pennant flags move back and forth in the wind – showing either the side bearing text...

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News
February 12, 2021

[caption id="attachment_18436" align="alignright" width="300"] Brittainy Newman for The New York Times[/caption] When I arrived on Rikers Island in January 2019 to await trial for an assault charge, I knew it would be dangerous — after all, the women’s jail is notorious for chronic abuse, unsanitary conditions and violence. But what I did not know was that...

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Hour Partners, News
February 4, 2021

Thank you to Extra Butter and InHouse for donating and distributing hot meals on our food pantry line. Watch the video by InHouse below to learn more about our partnership. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://hourchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/EB.mp4"][/video]...

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News
December 30, 2020

2020 has been a year of many ups and downs. Hour Children has been there for our participants every step of the way with our essential programs. We pivoted to meet the urgent needs of Hour women, children and community – masking, social distancing and connecting remotely so that no one was left behind. Hour Children...

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News
December 21, 2020

Hour Teen Scene provides enrichment and support for young people, ages 12 through 18 from Hour Children and the wider community. A “positive community for positive young people,” they help one another navigate the challenges of adolescence and build lasting friendships. Prior to the onset of COVID-19, teens came together for food, activities, and conversation. Now, teens...

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News
December 14, 2020

Hour Community Food Pantry meets the needs of struggling individuals and families for emergency food resources across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. The pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on the families and individuals in our community. We see it in the faces of those who wait on the line at our food pantry – too...

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News
December 7, 2020

Hour Working Women Program (HWWP) exists to meet the unique needs of formerly incarcerated women and people from our community seeking to re-enter the workforce. With this new remote model, the participants of HWWP continue to engage in workshops, classes, community activities, and training. With the assistance of Hour program, 100 women were provided re-entry education and...

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News
December 2, 2020

Hour School Fun supports families by providing academic support and extended care for children in Hour community ages five through eleven. Learn how your donation will support our essential programs during this time of uncertainty by watching the following video about Hour School Fun. [edgtf_button size="" type="" text="Donate" custom_class="" icon_pack="font_awesome" fa_icon="" link="https://hourchildren.org/donate" target="_self" color="" hover_color="" background_color="" hover_background_color="" border_color="" hover_border_color="" font_size=""...

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Hour Partners, News
November 6, 2020

Kibou, the deliberately minimal diaper bag, has partnered with Hour Children to encourage their buyers to give. Beginning November 1, 2020 Kibou will give 1% of every sale to mothers and children affected by incarceration. Learn more about Kibou and our partnership here....

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News
November 3, 2020

New York City is heaven when it comes to thrift and vintage stores. Not only is thrifting fun, but secondhand shopping is one of the best ways to reduce your impact on the environment as well as find great deals if you’re on a budget. But, when it seems like there is one on every...

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News
September 23, 2020

With the Census 2020 deadline September 30th approaching it’s a good time to watch our Trinity Church Wall Street video collaboration to remind you to complete yours! This is the 2020 Census video the participants of HWWP created in our Social Capital Workshop. We are encouraged and inspired as they are eager to participate in...

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News
August 25, 2020

In response to the murder of George Floyd and the recent Black Lives Matter protests, the women of Hour Children have a message. Racial violence is a crime against humanity and these recent events must compel us to be instruments of change. Erica Olivencia, Makeda Davis, and Joane Delinois share with us some powerful, critical,...

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News
August 25, 2020

Sister Teresa Fitzgerald, CSJ is the founder and executive director at Hour Children, which is based in Long Island City. Since establishing its first home in 1986, Hour Children has become a leading provider of prison- and community-based family services to support women and children affected by incarceration. Through supportive housing, mental health services, prison...

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News
June 9, 2020

[caption id="attachment_18436" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Gillian Laub[/caption] On the morning Makeda Davis was coming home, her mom, Georgia Davis, cleaned her studio apartment, smoothing a tablecloth over a table and putting out bowls of Doritos and pistachios and a Welcome Home balloon. Makeda’s daughter, Merhanda Pierre, had bought a charm bracelet featuring a heart engraved...

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News
June 4, 2020

We join with the tens of thousands of people throughout this city, this country, and the world who are marching, protesting, and demanding justice for the police murder of George Floyd and a much broader reckoning for the systemic, deadly racism that puts Black people at risk from law enforcement, fuels the epidemic of mass...

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News
May 19, 2020

If you missed our Virtual Mother's Day Event, you can watch it here. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us on May 7th for our very first virtual event. We were so grateful that so many spent the evening on Zoom with us, and we thank the women who shared their experiences. The...

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Homepage, News
February 28, 2020

Queens Public Television has been nominated for a New York Emmy Award for its 10-minute documentary on Hour Children. The film explores the history and growth of Hour Children, and the need for support and services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers and their children. Congratulations and good luck to all nominated at QPTV! ...

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News
November 26, 2019

Sister Tesa Fitzgerald has been named to Queens County District-Attorney-elect Melinda Katz's Transition Committee, comprised of experts in law, criminal justice reform, government operations and civic and community leadership. Also named to the Committee is Jane Stanicki, president of Hour Children's Board of Directors, and longtime volunteer and advocate at the Rose M. Singer Center...

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News
November 12, 2019

LONG ISLAND CITY —  Hour Children, a not-for-profit agency that serves women prisoners and former prisoners and their families, is the exception not the rule when it comes to charitable giving. The organization, which is run by the Sisters of St. Joseph, has seen a steady increase in donations over the last seven years, according to Jeffrey Smith,...

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News
January 28, 2019

Inside the Prison Where Babies Serve Time With Their Incarcerated Mothers One by one, a line of women in state greens walk down the winding prison roads and up a stairwell, with their arms wrapped around their tiny newborns or cradling their pregnant bellies. One-year-old Xaylen is one of 26 babies who call Bedford Hills Correctional Facility,...