Mom, please come back. Grandma is to tired. She can’t put my Christmas tree. I need you Mom.
I cry every day because I need you. Please come home.
- letter to Mom, Kelvin, age 10

 

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Children of incarcerated parents are innocent victims, caught in a vicious cycle of crime and punishment. Deprived of their parents, they are plunged into danger, trapped in a spiral of social abandonment.  While current federal and state laws dealing with drugs and domestic violence do great harm to parents, they devastate their children. Most of them experience a broad range of painful emotions including fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, loneliness and guilt. Academic performance often deteriorates.  Some of the behaviors manifested include uncontrollable and random anger, depression, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.  Ann Jacobs, director of the Women’s Prison Association, states that children with an incarcerated parent are highly susceptible to gang involvement, early pregnancy and early criminal activity. One in 10 will be jailed before adulthood.

GOAL

Our goal is to make children of incarcerated parents visible, for they are seldom seen; and to give them voice, for they are rarely, if ever heard.  The Word Is Love gives our subjects an opportunity to tell their stories in their own words; and universal chord their stories strike is this: we all share the basic human need to love and be loved.  Can these children connect to love once the bond with a primary caretaker has been broken?  How does this damaged bond affect all other relationships?  We believe our documentary will inform, involve and motivate the viewing audience.  Our greatest goal is to create a positive change for the children of incarcerated parents.

VIEW THE SELECTED CUTS

 

Comments from viewers (please send your comments to mturano@aol.com)


***Dear Marika
I attended your screening of The Word Is Love.  I was very moved by the film and the children.   Thank you for putting this into public awareness
– Jan G.

***Dear Marika
Please accept this donation for your documentary.Keep up the good work
– MaryAnn B.

***Dear Marika
I think your film is very worthwhile.  Enclosed please find a check in support of your project
– Gloria H.

***Marika,
I thoroughly appreciated your film and work with the children.  It was an inspiring evening
– Harriet G.

***Dear Marika,
You have done a wonderful job of bringing to the fore a topic that has too long in the shadows.  On behalf of all incarcerated parents, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
– Jose S.

***Greetings Ms. Turano,
While I know that the DVD I viewed was only an excerpt of The Word Is Love, I found it poignant and riveting. The ambivalent emotions that the children grapple with and attempt to articulate are powerful. Even the cinematography was excellent.  Michael Turano does a great job with the camera.
– Michael L.