Presents from prison: How Manitoba inmates are able to read stories to their kids
'Once they heard their dad's voice reading the books, they all got emotional,' Danika Letander says
Paige Woodfordburrows into the corner of a couch and studies the colourful pages of the kids' picture book All That I Can Be, listeningto her dadread theMercer Mayer classic about growing up and dreaming big.
The 11-year-old mouths the words but sits alone until her mom, Danika Letander,nestles in next to her. Together they listen to the deep voice ofKyle Woodford playfrom a recording.
It's the only way Woodford can read to Paige, or any of the couple's blended family of eight kids. His home at the moment is a prison cell inside Headingley Correctional Centre west of Winnipeg.
"It gets hard at times, because they cry and they get really fussy, and it's only me,"Letander said about the kids, whose ages range from three to 15.
Woodfordwas arrested in Marchand is awaiting trial, though no date has been set.Letander has no idea how long she'll be on her own.
What she does knowis that Woodford's voice soothes the kids, soshe reaches for the recordings andbooks that go along with them.
"It's amazing to have. It means so much that they can hear their dad," Letander said.
"When I first got them,I cried a little bit. Nowsometimes I close my eyes and I think he's just there reading a book to the kids."
The books and recordings aremade possible through a program called Get the Story Out, run by the John Howard Society (JHS) of Manitoba's literacy department. It's available to anyoneincarcerated at the Winnipeg Remand Centre, Milner Ridge Correctional Centre, Stony Mountain InstitutionorHeadingley.
Once a month, a volunteer records the inmate reading a book or multiple books, if they have several kids. The recording is turned into a CD, which is gift-wrapped with thebook and mailed out. AnMP3 is also created and emailed.
"And then they get to hear their parent telling them a story and read along with the story, so it's a really sweet program," said JHS literacy instructor John Samson Fellows.
"I think it's something that people forget, is that when we incarcerate someone, it's not just punishing them, it's a whole network and web of people, of families and communities. And the plight of children with incarcerated parents is really something that's often overlooked," he said.
"So maintaining that connection is really important the sound of care, the sound of love."
Woodford is limited to 15-minute phone calls, which leaves little timeto visit with Letanderand each of the kids, who live in Fairfordin Manitoba's Interlake region, some 210 kilometres from Headingley.
And that's only ifa phone is available.
"There's only three or two phones in the range, I guess, and there's a lot of people that want to talk to their family," Letander said.
"After 10:30 p.m., he gets locked up, and we don't hear his voice anymore."
The first delivery of books and recordings arrived in late July, and they have made a world of difference, she said. There are four, one for each of the youngest kids:Celeste, 3, Kylie-Dania, 4, Daytona, 6, and Paige.
"They slid it out and then they seen it was a book, andI was like, 'Listen to the recording,'" Letander said.
"Once they heard their dad's voicereading the books, they all got emotional."
The program was first introduced15 years ago but is being revived afterthe COVID-19 pandemic setit on the back burner.
"We're sort of just getting back to full steam so we'vetaken that opportunity to tweak the program a little bit," said Samson Fellows, whoalsofacilitates weekly literacy classes at the Remand Centre andhelps formerly incarcerated people writeresums.
His partner, composer and singer-songwriter Christine Fellows, is adding musical arrangements as a volunteer, giving the recordings a professional touch "andmaking them extra special for the kids," said Samson Fellows, who is also a well-known musician.
"Hopefully it's something they can keep and cherish."
Letander turns to the recordings regularly, particularly when things go a little haywire and she needs a break.
"They read along with him. It'll be, like, a quiethour maybe,"she said.
"When I wake up around, like, 2 a.m. and I can't fall asleep, orI'm tossing andturning,I listen to it and it makes me cry by myself."
Aside from some respite and aconnection to Woodford, the recordings havehelped in other ways, Letander said.
Celeste, who is three and has been nonverbal, is now pronouncing some words, like "Dad" and "Hi" and "Up" and "Down," Letander said.
AndDaytona, who never glanced at a book and was only interested in playing video games, didn'tpickup a controller forthe first week after the recording arrived.
"Now he wants his dad to send more.He can't wait for his next book," Letander said.
The majority of the books for the John Howard Society'svarious literacy programs are donated byWhodunit Mystery Bookstore and McNally Robinson Booksellers. The organizationalso just struck a partnership with McNally, which isoffering books at a discount for the public to donatetoGet the Story Out.
"We've been using used books for a long time, but I really want them to be brand new. I think that's an important part of opening a present, and what those children deserve,"Samson Fellows said.
The books and scored recordings are assembled at the John Howardoffice, packed with the child's name on the front beside a colourful bookmark.
"It's a present in itself," Letander said.
That's exactly howSamson Fellows hopes it comes across.
"We want it tobe presented as a gift from their parent make it something special,an occasion,"he said.
"There's no real real way for [incarcerated people] to send gifts, so this is one way that we can kind of help them with that."
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