Prisoner and Family Ministry/Rockford is a community-based program serving children, families and adults who are at risk of incarceration or have been in prison.  Prisoner and Family Ministry/Rockford is located in the 61104 ZIP Code area, where seven out of 10 children at a local elementary school are affected by the incarceration of a loved one, and where 65 percent of all Blackhawk Housing residents have a family member in prison.   

Buddy House
Located in Blackhawk Courts, LSSI provides after-school activities, tutoring and snacks for children Monday through Friday.  Adults also find Buddy House a quiet place of respite where they receive support, access community resources and receive information about their incarcerated loved ones.

Elementary School Collaboration
At local schools, volunteers assist teachers with children who have been identified as having skill deficits and provide educational support for these children. Volunteers and staff work with the school administration to encourage parent involvement in school activities.

Storybook Project
Volunteers help incarcerated parents at Winnebago County Jail select books and make recordings of themselves reading to their children. The books and recordings are sent to the children along with loving messages of encouragement from their parents.

Jail Visitation
Volunteers and staff visit individuals incarcerated in the Winnebago County Jail.  Volunteers and staff also participate in the “Lead Like Jesus” program that prepares incarcerated men and women to be leaders within their families and communities.

Garden Project
The Garden Project (See photo album) is a collaboration with Angelic Organics Learning Center and Heifer International that educates children and youth on how to grow their own organic fruit and vegetables. The children and youth at Blackhawk Courts and other public housing sites tend the garden from spring through the fall. The children share the food they have grown with their families and neighbors, as well as sell it at farmers markets.

Learn More

815/988-3465 (Rockford - Prisoner and Family Ministry/Rockford)
E-mail:  Janice.Carpenter@LSSI.org