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Catholic Nun helps families connect behind bars
Sister Suzanne Jabro, CSJ, is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Carndelet (Los Angels Province) and the founder of Get on the Bus, a free transportation ministry that unites children and their caregivers with a parent who is in prison.
Not only does Get on the Bus offer free transportation, but they provide “travel bags for the children, comfort bags for the caregivers, a photo of each child with his or her parent, and meals for the day.” On the way home children receive “a teddy bear with a letter from their parent and post-event counseling.” All this is provided at no cost to the family.
This year Get on the Bus is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It started when Sister Suzanne and other members of an interfaith delegation visited a state prison to see how they could help female inmates. It came down to one thing: the women, some of whom had been separated from their children for 9 years, wanted to see their kids. Sister Suzanne knew that the effects of separation for both a parent and a child were traumatic and that reuniting them could bring not only some healing but also help with the imprisoned parent’s rehabilitation.
Sister Suzanne got her nuns on board and eventually they were able to get together a bus with children from nine families to visit their mothers on Mother’s Day. This Mother’s Day, reports Good Housekeeping, “48 buses, sponsored by churches, synagogues, and other agencies, will bring children from all over California for Mother’s Day visits.”
I encourage you to read the entire Good Housekeeping article, A Mother’s Day Gift by Nicole Gregory (May 2009) which tells the story of Sister Suzanne and Get on the Bus. Also, learn more about the program at the website Get on the Bus.
What I love about this story is that Sister Suzanne exemplifies nuns on mission — she saw a need and she did everything she could to meet that need, even when faced with obstacles such as lack of funding and a reluctance to help incarcerated parents.
… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me … (Matthew 25:35-36)
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What a great work! I’m involved in similar work on a volunteer basis with The Children’s Center at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York. It was started over thirty years ago by a CSJ, Sister Elaine Roulet of the Brentwood community. We do a nine week summer program for kids and their moms. Children go up for a week at a time and have a sort of summer camp experience with their moms in the facility. It’s an amazing program and stands in testimony to Sr. Elaine and the many other sisters who recognized a need and responded in love. By the way, they are always looking for volunteers. They provide room and board in NYC in exchange for a week (or more) of volunteering. It’s an unforgettable volunteer experience!
Oh wow. Just when you start to believe the worst about people, something like this comes up. Thanks!
Now THAT’S what I call a true Mothers’ Day gift.
Jeff: One of our sisters, Sr. Mary Ann Collins, is a chaplain at Bedford Hills. There is a short reflection on our blog about some of the women there. http://opblauvelt.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-tea.html
She also has some of her preaching in podcasts, many of which talk about her experiences at Bedford Hills. http://word.op.org/author/mary-ann-collins/
Sr. Amadeus McKenna, who works at a parish in the Bronx, also leads retreats there.
I’ve met Sr. Mary Ann in my summers at Bedford. She’s a great woman.
Thanks for connecting.
Dominican sisters:
That’s an awesome website with preaching from Dominican women and men. It’s not always so easy to find that sort of stuff. Thanks. dee
There it is: “why i want to be a sister” and the scripture to go with it.
I read a comment somewhere that a lot of sisters these days are just
“glorified social workers”. it was not a compliment.
But I want to say, “That’s right. That’s right. It is social work glorified, and thus guided, by the simplicity of God’s wisdom and love”. these nun-projects just have a different “feel”. (and i say it as a lifelong social worker).
Thanks for sharing this, sr julie
Jean
To be a social worker, living most of the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy, is the key to being a good Christian. So if most nuns are “glorified” social workers (whatever the “glorified” means here), they are on the right track. dee