The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1306768
BY RICH MONETTI CHILDREN of PROMISE S haron Content once enjoyed personal and professional success on Wall Street. However, the New Jersey resident eventually realized a more meaningful career was necessary and working with children was her destiny. Content went onto work in several different youth programs in NYC, and there was a recurring incidence that focused her drive to make a difference. "Whenever I was working with a child of an incarcerated parent, there were very few if any resources or organizations to refer to," she said, and her caring and entrepreneurial spirit coalesced to form Children of Promise, NYC. e first aer school program began 11 years ago in Brooklyn and all attendees have an incarcerated parent. Another just opened in the Bronx, 600 children now occupy the two locations. Unfortunately, most Americans don't realize the extent of the problem. 2.7 million American children have a parent in prison, and the tragedy breaks down disproportionately along racial lines. So while One in 57 white children lay claim, one in 28 Latinos have a parent in prison and a staggering one in nine African American children fall prey. Of course, the communities CPNYC serve are the epicenter of the problem, but the aer school label doesn't quite cover it. "We are a licensed outpatient mental health clinic," said Content. is president doesn't see the in- depth intervention as an overreach either. "e most important person in your life's development has been taken away —your mom or dad," she lamented. e trauma frequently takes place in a vacuum too. In other words, if separation occurs because of divorce, military deployment or even death, society offers unconditional empathy. Instead, stigma prevails for these kids, and families oen instruct kids to keep it quiet. "My dad is gone, and I can't even tell anyone where he's at," Content conveyed the sentiment. So CPNYC gives children a safe place to share their experience, and the founder can't help convey the entrance of one seven year old. Not understanding CPNYC's mission, he covertly shared the family secret Content already knew. Returning the favor, she revealed that 'everybody here' has the same secret, and his response was nothing short of liberating. "Everybody," he beamed. "Everybody," she reassured him according to Content. V U E N J . C O M 96