The Place4Grace

Next Tuesday we will be holding our monthly in-office event featuring tie-blankets 🧶😁!

We will have a variety of blankets with cute patterns and different colors 🌈!

Bring your family and friends for this fun activity! We will also be providing snacks, drinks, and other activities 🤗!

💛 Our space is opened to the public where anyone can come Tuesdays-Thursdays for a space to relax, stay cool, enjoy snacks, and use our wifi! 💙

When our folks started making the long trip up to Pelican Bay in 2016, there were less than a handful of programs in the entire institution. We were able to do the very first recordings of men inside SHU and send home those messages to their families. 📚✨💚
Proud to be still programming there nearly a decade later, because we always believe in going where we are most needed. 🥰🙏🏽🌹Now we have 3 programs at the bay, including ✨Healing4Families✨and 🏕️Camp Grace🏕️

When our folks started making the long trip up to Pelican Bay in 2016, there were less than a handful of programs in the entire institution. We were able to do the very first recordings of men inside SHU and send home those messages to their families. 📚✨💚
Proud to be still programming there nearly a decade later, because we always believe in going where we are most needed. 🥰🙏🏽🌹

Today was a good day... Went inside Pelican Bay to record these men reading to a child they left behind.

🎊 We wanted to give a big shout out to Earlonne Woods of Ear Hustle 🎊 !!!

🥳🎂 Today is his Birthday 🎉 !!!

Ear Hustle and The Place4Grace go way back ⏪️!

They participated in a few of our Camps at Salinas Valley in 2021 and featured our program and even some of our families on their podcast 🎤💙.

We are so grateful for all of their support and wish them the happiest of birthdays 😆!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🥳✨💙!

One of our final days of Camp Grace includes making a signed t-shirt keepsake! 👕✍️

The kids and fathers go around signing and writing a special message on each other’s t-shirt after their time spent together 🫂💓.

This is such a fun idea to commemorate and preserve our newly made memories 😁✨🌀!

💓✨ Volunteer Stories 💓✨

Do you guys remember Patricia!?

We posted her success story last October when she arrived home and became Home2Stay 🎉✨.

6 months ago Patricia started working with us via California Justice Leaders!

She has been a true asset to our team and very passionate about her work. Every event we have held in in office and participated in the community, she makes sure that she and her family are present to support us 🫶🏽.

Patricia is always striving for more opportunities to enhance her skills and better herself for her family. Just recently, Patricia reunited with her kids after 8 years of being apart 🥹🫂!

We are so grateful to have you a part of our team and can’t wait to see what else is in store for you! 💓

‼️✨ Today is roll out day ✨‼️

The second section of the bill starts today 🥳🙌🏽!

“The Dignity Act 2.0 (AB 134) protects the dignity of families and their critically valuable time with incarcerated loved ones by requiring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) to allow visitors to bring certain items for the visit, including basic necessary items for infants and toddlers.” ✊✨

On July 1st, visitors granted family visits were finally able to bring in:

⭐️ Personal linens, including a mattress cover, a flat sheet, a fitted sheet

⭐️ A single layer blanket

⭐️ A bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth

⭐️ A bath mat and disposable shower curtain

⭐️ An unopened, sealed lubricant bottle

‼️ These items are applied to each person and for the length of the visit. If the length of stay is 3 days then they can bring a few sets of towels to last them 3 days ‼️

✨Now, TODAY on August 1st, the second part of the legislation will begin with CDCR document scanning to make visitations a faster process upon request by the visitor 📑✨!

These rights were hard won by us and our co-sponsors at 🥹✨💛!

⭐️ Stay tuned for more updates regarding other changes ⭐️

Our second Leo of the month ♌️😝!

🎉🩷 Happy Early Birthday to Ms. Paulina 🎉🩷 !!!

Our Paulina is our Operations Associate and constant life saver 😭😌! In a short period of time Paulina jumped into working with us for legislation to running the operations by herself 🥹!

We love having you on the team and wish you the happiest of birthdays 🥳🎂✨!

🏕️✨Camp Stories✨🏕️

As seen on previous posts, both the fathers and children have an opportunity to perform for each other!

Popular performances among our group involves reading a letter or poem aloud to their loved one 💌, singing songs 🎶, and even having dance performances 🕺🏽✨!

This activity is meant to be fun and heartwarming ❤️! Being able to do something that you enjoy and share it with your loved one is crucial to opening up and rebuilding bonds 🫂❤️!

Enjoy some photos from our Tehachapi fathers doing their signature dance 😂✨!

🎬⭐️ **Behind-the-Scenes** ⭐️🎬

Getting ready to see our fathers in the facilities requires for some bonding time with the team and the kids!

For Salinas Valley we have started a bit of a tradition where we will take a trip to the beach 🏖️ and Chuck E. Cheese 🐭❤️!

We love getting to know the kids and their different personalities! 🥹

Please scroll to see the kids making friends with each other and some even experiencing the beach for the first time 😎🌊☀️!

💛❤️ SALINAS VALLEY 2017 & 2018 💛❤️

💡💛✨ It’s time for a Home2Stay Spotlight ✨💛💡

Let’s welcome home these wonderful women home 💛🏠 💛!

Teresa served 34 years. Our team was able to welcome her home with a trip to Ross 🛍️ for essentials and her first ever cup of Starbucks ☕️!!

Per our recommendation, Teresa got the caramel frappe, a classic 😌✨!

Monique was also welcomed home with the a trip for new shoes 👟 ! Since her release she has secured work for herself after completing the reentry work program through Family Assistance 💛.

✨💛 W E L C O M E 〰️ H O M E 💛 ✨

We hope everyone had a great 4-day weekend 🎇!

Here are some photos from our in-office Arts & Crafts event last week 🤩✨🎨✨🖌️!

We had the kids decorate their own bookmarks 📚, necklaces, and holiday visors 🧢!

Stay tuned for our next event! 🩷🩵!

‼️✨Today is roll out day✨‼️

There are two sections of the bill starting on different dates and today is one of them ☺️!

“The Dignity Act 2.0 (AB 134) protects the dignity of families and their critically valuable time with incarcerated loved ones by requiring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) to allow visitors to bring certain items for the visit, including basic necessary items for infants and toddlers.” ✊✨

Starting TODAY, July 1st, visitors granted family visits will be able to bring in:

⭐️ Personal linens, including a mattress cover, a flat sheet, a fitted sheet

⭐️ A single layer blanket

⭐️ A bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth

⭐️ A bath mat and disposable shower curtain

⭐️ An unopened, sealed lubricant bottle

‼️ These items are applied to each person and for the length of the visit. If the length of stay is 3 days then they can bring a few sets of towels to last them 3 days ‼️

The second part of the legislation is delayed and should be starting on August 1st, CDCR will begin document scanning to make visitations a faster process upon request by the visitor 📑!

These rights were hard won by us and our co-sponsors at 🥹✨💛!

⭐️ Stay tuned for more updates regarding other changes ⭐️

This week our team went up to High Desert to host the second camp of 2024 🤩🧡🏕️!

Our families were so excited to finally be able to reunite, some who haven’t seen each other in years 🥺❤️👨‍👧‍👦.

While we don’t have photos to show yet, here is a throwback of our 2018 Camp Grace in High Desert ✨!

Stay tuned for future posts regarding Camp Grace #20 🧡😝❤️!

🎆🩷 Next week we are holding another Arts and Crafts night at our office! 🩷🎆

We will have:

🎇 A visor crafting station

🎇 A window ornament decorating station

🎇 A book mark DIY station

🎇 A bracelet and necklace station

🎇 We will also have books, coloring books, and snacks obviously 😋!

Bring your families and friends! Let’s get them out of this heat 🥵🍦!

‼️ There were minor mistakes on our previous post about AB 134.

We wanted to clarify that there are two sections of the bill starting on different dates ‼️

“The Dignity Act 2.0 (AB 134) protects the dignity of families and their critically valuable time with incarcerated loved ones by requiring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) to allow visitors to bring certain items for the visit, including basic necessary items for infants and toddlers.” ✊✨

Starting July 1st, visitors granted family visits will be able to bring in:

⭐️ Personal linens, including a mattress cover, a flat sheet, a fitted sheet

⭐️ A single layer blanket

⭐️ A bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth

⭐️ A bath mat and disposable shower curtain

⭐️ An unopened, sealed lubricant bottle

‼️ These items are applied to each person and for the length of the visit. If the length of stay is 3 days then they can bring a few sets of towels to last them 3 days ‼️

The second part of the legislation is delayed and should be starting on August 1st, CDCR will begin document scanning to make visitations a faster process upon request by the visitor 📑!

These rights were hard won by us and our partners at Jesse's Place Organization Prison From-TheInside-Out Inc. Legal Services for Prisoners with Children ALL of Us or None Los Angeles/Long Beach Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition🥹✨💛!

⭐️ Stay tuned for more updates regarding other changes ⭐️

The city of Rialto knows how to celebrate Juneteenth! ❤️💛

On Wednesday, our organization had the opportunity to take part in the 2nd annual Juneteenth Jam in Rialto ✨!

There were so many amazing groups of individuals showing up for their organizations, families, and city 🙌🏽!

We gave away over 200 books and goodie bags for the kids and their families 📚🧸.

It was so much fun to be part of such a happy community at this family affair 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒❤️!

Thank you for having us ✊🏽✨.

Happy Father’s Day🎉🎊to all the men doing their best to be good dads under the most difficult conditions. No bars, walls, fences or cages can ever stop the love 💕 that we have for our grandfathers, dads, uncles, brothers and sons that are system impacted!

Next Wednesday we are celebrating Juneteenth by taking part of the annual Juneteenth Jam in Rialto ✨🤩✨!

“Juneteenth Jam: “Its a Family Affair” reinforces positive spaces for family-oriented entertainment, games, resources, and community.

Stronger Together Now + Black the Block + Fentwood Hoops + DEV Partnerships are teaming up for another Juneteenth Jam, which will be held on 6/19 from 4-9pm at Ferguson Park in Rialto, CA.

We will have Market + Movies + Food + Music + Basketball to celebrate our Juneteenth National Holiday with the community.”

This event is only 6 days away ‼️. Our team will be giving out books 📚, plushies 🧸, legos 🧱, slime 🧪, water bottles, and stationary kits 📓💕.

Please come on out to Fergusson Park on Wednesday June 19th from 4-9pm! ☺️✨

Last week our team went up to Pelican Bay SP to begin a second session of Healing4Families ❤️‍🩹✨!

This is our second cohort with more than 50 participants 😆🌟!

You may recognize some of our fathers from their recent graduation from our first Healing4Families program 🥹.

It was so great to see our returning fathers, but also meet so many more men who are eager to be better themselves as fathers 🫂❤️.

Let’s welcome home Michael, Austin, Demitiri, and Daniel 🏡⭐️!

Michael is doing big things 💫! He was able to get his own apartment the same morning that we took him shopping 🥹🏠✨!

Austin has been out less than 60 days and has struggled in attaining resources and his personal documents. His current goal has been to return to the institution he was released from to advocate for rehabilitation services and teaching other individuals what he has learned 🙌🏽.

Demitri has been attending college since his release and has taken it upon himself to learn entrepreneurship. Inside, Demitri completed three years of University and all of his credits were able to transfer making him a third year student 🤩👨‍🎓!

Daniel is also excited to be home! He is ready to start programs to better himself for his family 💗.

They are HOME2STAY ✨⭐️✨!

📣🤗Come join us for our first art night at our new office!! 🤗📣

Date: June 4, 2024
Time: 5pm-7pm
Location: 690 W 4th. St, San Bernardino, CA 92410

Family friendly 💕
Supplies and snacks will be provided 😊

No RSVP required
We hope to see you there ✨

One of our camp activities includes 🎥🌟MOVIE DAY 🌟🎥!

Our families get to sit, lay, and enjoy the experience 🌀!

There is lots of candy, popcorn, cookies, and even KFC in certain instances as seen in the photos ☺️!

For our most recent Camp at CCI our families were able to watch Elemental 🔥❤️💧. This movie is set in a city where the residents are all different elements. One major theme in the movie is how every resident comes to the realization that they all have much in common despite being different.

As simple as a movie day may be, movies such as Elemental sends positive messages to our families about love, balance, empathy, respect, and most importantly community 🫂❤️.

What should our next movie be ?! 🎞️🧐

Who’s missing Football season!? 😭🏈

Because WE ARE 😈💪🏽!

Our camp families don’t have to worry because every Camp we bring football season to them 🏟️🎉.

It’s so heartwarming to see our fathers teach their kids everything they know about football. They teach them how to hold the ball, throw it, catch it, and play the game 🥹🙌🏽!

Our sport loving fathers love this activity as they are able to share their interests with their children and bond 👥. It’s awesome to see their faces light up when their children are able to throw them the ball ✨!

Not everyone likes football and that’s okay! Despite this, all of our fathers still enjoy participating and learning about the sport with their children 👨‍🏫.

This activity is meant to bring everyone together. It teaches our families new skills, such as, communication, teamwork, ethics, collaboration, etc!

Stay tuned for our game highlights 🫣😂. Our next NFL player may be in our roster 😎🫵🏽!

We were honored to be special guests, and to join A New Way of Life () and Pitzer’s College Inside Out Pathway-to-BA Program (.educ), for the launch of Dorsey Nunn’s memoir, What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection! It was a beautiful event that included lots of our friends, including and 💕🌸✨🎉 Huge congratulations to Dorsey on his retirement and this incredible book! 💪🏿❤️👏🏽

Thank you to for having us at the 2024 Mayor’s Sneaker Ball 👟❤️!

“This event celebrated 23 years of service and honors the Mayors of San Bernardino County. It’s more than just an event; it’s an opportunity to sow the seeds of change and create a brighter tomorrow for our community.”

We are appreciative to have been able to be in a space with other organizations, programs, and people who share similar outlooks for our community and families. Coming together and working together is the first step to help build a better future 🌟❤️.

Dressing up and being able to wear our fresh sneakers 😎👟 was so much fun! It’s important to remember that sneaker balls are often held to also celebrate the art, culture, and community we hold and come from.

Thank you 👏🏽🌟!

Let’s Welcome Home Richard, Mike, Shay, Pat, and Jose 🏡💛!

Richard was incarcerated for 30 years and now serves as a mentor to those reentering society 👨‍🏫🫂.

Mike did 2 years and has successfully completed his transitional stay program 🌟.

Shae was incarcerated for 12 years and has been in high spirits since his release. He is excited to get started on his future success ☺️!

Pat and Jose were both lifers. They have now secured a job and have been working since their release 💼💪🏽! We were able to assist them both with work gear ⛑️.

They are Home2Stay 🥳💛!