Contact: Caroline Medlin
615-686-3250
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 6, 2020
Q:What is Jonah’s Journey?
Jonah’s Journey provides care to infants of incarcerated mothers with the goal of reunification. Informed by the Whole Child Initiative, caregivers support mothers during their time in prison and after their release.
Q:What is the Whole Child Initiative?
Our approach to care operates off of a holistic approach. We seek to help vulnerable, hurting children overcome trauma and set them up to thrive in all areas of their life. The Whole Child Initiative does this through four core principles: the whole story, the whole child, whole team and whole caregiver.
Q:What is Jonah’s Journey’s mission?
Jonah’s Journey, which joined Palmer Home Family Care in 2014, provides nurturing care to infants of incarcerated mothers with the goal of reunification. Informed by the Whole Child Initiative, caregivers support mothers during their time in prison and after their release. Through their partnership with Family Care, birth mothers experience growth both as parents and as individuals.
Q:What has the organization accomplished to date?
This past year, Jonah’s Journey saw 19 children reunified with their mother after time with a family caregiver. Our caregivers and staff served 47 mothers and spent 74 hours visiting birth families. We saw seven professions of faith and baptisms, and we had 280 volunteers who served a combined total of 20,000 hours.
Q:Can you share a story of an individual whose life has been changed because of Jonah’s Journey?
Yes! Jonah’s Journey helps mothers break the cycle. Jesse faced an impossible decision: should she place her newborn baby with a caregiver family? After praying about it, she felt peace and was paired with Leallison Whittinghill. This decision changed her life and many other women’s lives. You can view Jesse’s story here. (Story to link in on website: https://vimeo.com/123026012)
Q:How has COVID-19 impacted Jonah’s Journey?
At Jonah’s Journey, we heavily rely on connecting with prospective caregiver families in our homes, in the park, our churches and in day-to-day life. This is how we often connect with new caregiver families. Because COVID has limited our ability to be out in the community, one of our most urgent needs in 2020 is caregiver families. COVID-19 has also limited the amount of time that our caregiver families are able to spend at the prisons.
Q:What are your most urgent needs in 2020?
Our greatest need is caregiver families. We have more incarcerated mothers wanting to place their children through Jonah’s Journey and not enough caregiver families to take them in. If you are interested in partnering with us in this way, you can join one of our family care interest meetings via Zoom or host an informational meeting in your home.
Q:Is Jonah’s Journey funded by the state?
Our funding is 100% donations based. We receive funding from individuals, churches, foundations and private corporations. We do not receive any funding from the state. However, we are licensed and audited by the state of Tennessee.
Q: How can we help besides making financial contributions?
There are three other ways that you can partner with us:
- Pray. Pray for the mothers, babies, caregiver families and staff.
- Volunteer. There’s always a need for full-time volunteers and respite caregiver families.
- Advocate. Host a Jonah’s Journey informational meeting in your home or church.
Q: How can we stay up to date on Jonah’s Journey?
The best way to stay up to date with us is to sign up for our quarterly newsletter. In it you will find updates on everything going on at Jonah’s Journey. You will also receive our annual impact report.
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Jonah’s Journey began in 2008 after one family felt the call and provided a caring, loving home for baby Jonah, whose mother gave birth to him while incarcerated at the Tennessee Prison for Women. The organization made it possible for Jonah to eventually reunite with his birth mother and also began Jonah’s Journey, an alternative to state foster care for mothers who are incarcerated. What makes Jonah’s Journey unique is the ongoing relationship between the caregiver family and the birth mother. For more information, contact 615-686-3250 or visit jonahsjourney.org.
