DuPage group brightens holidays for inmates' children
Christmas is hard enough when you can't be around the ones you love, but it's particularly difficult for children whose parents are incarcerated.
JUST of DuPage, a local nonprofit group, does what it can to take the sting out of the holidays for children when their parents or guardians are serving time in the DuPage County Jail.
For the second year, JUST hosted a holiday event with about 65 families and a total of 150 to 200 children Saturday, Dec. 12, at Wheaton Christian Center in Carol Stream. New winter gear, including coats, scarves, hats and gloves, were among the gifts distributed, along with toys and food baskets, said Chip DeBlois, JUST's executive director.
The charitable event is just one of several programs JUST - Justice, Understanding, Service and Teaching - administers to help inmates cope with their situation and make changes in their lives, he said.
"We're a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works inside the DuPage County Jail. This is our 29th year," DeBlois said. "We provide all the social services that take place inside the jail."
With four full-time employees, the organization relies heavily on volunteer workers, he said. At any given time, 600 to 800 inmates are in the DuPage County Jail; over the course of a year, about 18,000 inmates spend time in the Wheaton facility.
JUST has an addiction recovery program administered with the help of 80 volunteers who work with the program on a regular basis, he said. There are also life skills classes and opportunities for spiritual enrichment.
The Christmas event for children of inmates was initiated in 2014.
"Last year, the Wheaton Christian Center … approached us and asked us if they could help us plan a party for children of those who are incarcerated in the jail," DeBlois said. "They have worked with the disadvantaged and the homeless doing this. They wanted to add inmates."
Because of security concerns, the event cannot be held at the jail, DeBlois said, so the center plays host. And though the inmates can't attend, they do have a hand in making sure their children can take part.
"We surveyed all the inmates in the jail and asked them if they had children," DeBlois said.
JUST contacted children's temporary guardians to get correct clothing sizes and worked with several churches and service groups to arrange for clothing, toys and food. Donations were plentiful, he said. Even the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program pitched in with 375 new toys, DeBlois said.
The Immanuel Presbyterian Church of Warrenville gave funds to buy food. The Hobson Road Community Church of Downers Grove gave 50 food baskets. St. Petronille's Catholic Church of Glen Ellyn and St. Paul Lutheran Church of Villa Park gave new hats, scarves and gloves, he said.
"Every family that came got a food basket and a turkey or a ham," he said.
The Knights of Columbus donated 70 new winter coats, DeBlois said. A group of three dental hygienists provided dental health assistance at the event.
"There was a beautician that did hair for the girls," he said.
Music and a telling of the Christmas story added holiday spirit, he said.
"It was a fun celebration. The kids, of course, loved it. The parents really appreciate it," DeBlois said. "Our plan is to make it an annual event. The whole point is to make people feel special and put a smile on a child's face."