Impact of violence on children: "Reporter's Notebook"

More than a million children in the U.S. have a parent in prison. We tell you about violent crimes every day, but we never see how the effects of those crimes impact the children left behind. In a News 2 special report, we take a closer look at the problem, and what's being done to help break the cycle of violence.

According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, there are more than 24-thousand inmates in state prisons. Of that number, nearly 16-thousand are black, 8-thousand are white, and 549 are listed as other.

Back in May, I volunteered at Mary Ford Elementary, and sat down at a table with a young group of students. One child, after the other talked about losing their father to violent crime or prison. One little girl told me , "My daddy got shot in the stomach last year. I miss him so much." She said, "I had a moment yesterday." I asked her what she meant by that? She said, "I had a hard time, and I was crying a lot." It went on and on. Sadly, it's a common theme at Mary Ford.

I went back there a few weeks ago, and sat down with children who have witnessed violent acts, lost a family member to murder, and have a loved one in prison. The first student I talked to is an 8-year--old third grader. We concealed the identity of the students, but his sad doe eyes tell a heart breaking story of their own. I began by asking him, is this a good day for you? He replied, "Kind of." He then told me about the scariest thing he ever saw. "Somebody fighting my aunt. My uncle started yelling at her, and then he got into her face, and he hit her with that vase." When asked how did that make you feel? The student took a breath, and answered, "Mad." I asked him to tell me what he thought about violence. He paused for several seconds, and with a shake of his head, answered, "Scared... scared."

According to the U.S. Justice Department, an estimated one-million seven hundred thousand children have a parent in prison. It's a problem that does not discriminate. At Mary Ford elementary, a predominately African American school in North Charleston, it's an issue I saw first hand. A 10-year-old student told me his father was in prison for life. I asked him when was the last time he saw his father? He replied, "I don't remember."

There are many stories. A 12-year-old student told me, "My uncle got shot four times in his back. That make my heart drop. I feel mad." Experts say witnessing that kind of violence can have a rippling effect. Jennifer Singleton is a parent advocate and student concern specialist at Mary Ford. She says, "I see it on a daily basis. It's very heartbreaking. I had a parent tell me the night before she heard six gunshots. One went through her window, and came through one of her child's bedroom. So I hear it from parents as well as the students. It's very serious. When they step off that bus, just by looking at them, we never know what lies beneath. What happened that night before? What did they witness, what did they hear? It's just amazing."

A group of men from the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church Mentoring Unit are hoping to make a difference at Mary Ford and other schools in Charleston county. They mentor students in seven district schools, including Mary Ford. Their slogan... "Violence is not the answer." Their goal... to break the cycle of violence. Alex Williams is one of the mentors. He tells the group, "We want to see you grow up to be fine young men, you know there's so many of us that are going to jail. The man right behind you right now, he's going to help you every way he can. He loves you. He really does." Williams says he's noticed something unique about Mary Ford. He says, "Out of all the schools that we have, this one would be the worst. We have 12 boys here at Mary Ford. Everyone of those children had somebody in jail, father, uncle, brother, cousin. When we first came, one young man we talked to we asked him what does your father do? He said my father's in prison for life. He killed someone. He was wearing it like a badge of courage. We had to knock that badge off." Parent advocate Jennifer Singleton says, "It is very sad, and that's why we encourage volunteers to come sit with these children one on one, just for an hour one day a week. We are always looking for volunteers."

Despite their harsh reality, there is always hope. I ended the interviews by asking each student what he wants to be when he grows up. One said, "Probably an architect." Another said, he wasn't sure, but he wanted to be a police officer at first, but didn't want to do that again, because they have a tough job and have to run too much. As for the student with the sad doe eyes, when I asked him what he wants to be, He answered, "A president."

In addition to a guidance counselor, Mary Ford also has an on site mental health worker. The school has different programs including, the lunch buddy program where area businesses send employees to sit with children. The Mt. Moriah Church mentoring group has been in Charleston county schools eight weeks, and plan to be there until the last day of school. They plan to take the students on field trips to a municipal court to watch a criminal case, and to a detention center, so they can see the result of crime and violence.

If you would like to volunteer at the school, call (843) 745-7131.