Tucking in to read a good story to your child at bedtime is among life’s most intimate moments.

But what about parents who are incarcerated?

That’s one of the reasons why WBEZ’s Prisoncast! project is partnering with several organizations to put on a special holiday broadcast for people incarcerated in Illinois and their loved ones this Sunday, Dec. 17. The special radio event airs from 2 to 3 p.m. on WBEZ 91.5FM, at wbez.org and on Illinois Public Radio stations across the state.

The Prisoncast! holiday special uses audio and radio to bring families together, even when they’re separated by prison walls and miles of razor wire. Through the power of public radio stations that reach every corner of Illinois, the program can be heard by people inside many state department of corrections facilities – just as their loved ones on the outside tune in from home.

Over the past months, producers for Prisoncast! made several visits to Danville Correctional Center and the Kane County Jail to record story readings for Sunday’s program. The storybook recording from Cook County Jail was made possible thanks to the group Contextos, which runs a writing program there. The show features sound-designed and scored recordings of incarcerated parents reading storybooks to their children.

• RELATED STORY
• Criminal Justice
• Prisoncast!

Prison bus trips offer a holiday “lifeline” for kids and incarcerated moms

read more

The idea for the broadcast came after two non-profit organizations – Companions Journeying Together and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois – reached out to Prisoncast! producers last year to share information about a creative way they use audio to connect parents in prison with their kids: Volunteers record incarcerated parents and grandparents reading bedtime stories to the children in their lives. Then, they send the kids a copy of the book and the recording, so they can read along in bed while listening to their parent’s voice.

“Anything we can do to strengthen the bonds with families will help them when they’re released” from prison, said Jana Minor, the founder of Companions Journeying Together’s Aunt Mary’s Storybook project.

“We also know that there’s a greater percentage of children who’ve had a parent in prison that will go to prison” later in life, she said. “So if somehow we can help those children – and what better way than a good book and encouraging literacy?”

The recordings made by the groups during these visits are being cherished by children for years, said Kevin Copeland, who runs LSSI’s Storybook Project.

“We have stories of families that have written and said their child goes to sleep listening to the recording of mom reading to them, playing it over and over again,” Copeland said.

Sunday’s broadcast will also air holiday shout-outs we recorded from loved ones on the outside, and from people incarcerated at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, Ill. Other treats for the ear: Recorded holiday sounds from the outside world, as requested by people in prison, such as Chicago’s Christmas tree lighting, snow crunching underfoot – and, of course, the holiday meal.

As with every Prisoncast! episode, all content and ideas in the show come from doing outreach to hundreds of people in Illinois prisons and jails, their loved ones, and groups serving that community. This special radio event is part of WBEZ’s ongoing efforts to serve people inside prisons and jails, and their families, with moments of joy, practical information, and journalism relating to the state’s carceral system.

Learn more about the project at wbez.org/prisoncast, or write to prisoncast@wbez.org.

People can write to us from prison or jail at: WBEZ Prisoncast!, 848 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611.

Alex Keefe is WBEZ’s Engagement Editor. Follow him @akeefe.