This program supports children of incarcerated parents for 10 years

ATLANTA — Hundreds of thousands of children in Georgia have something in common: having a mother or father in jail.

For those students, school and just regular life can be stressful.

Some of these families are taking a journey together. Everyone on the retreat has a loved one in jail.

Nearly 200,000 children in Georgia are in single parent homes - because one parent is incarcerated.

Kidz 2 Leaders hosts weekend retreats to get families talking.

“It’s hard. It’s hard. It’s a very hard journey,” Latasha Bailey said.

Bailey’s daughter has been to the nonprofit organization’s summer camp in Winder, known as Camp Hope.

“I don’t have to act like someone I’m not,” her daughter said of the camp.

Kidz 2 Leaders goes way past those weekends with leadership lessons, job training and college scholarships.

They've made a decade-long commitment to families, hoping to break the cycle of incarceration.

“Just to be the best they can be. Despite the circumstances, despite what’s going on in life, just to be the best you can be,” Bailey said. “It’s not the end of the world. It may feel like it, but there are also (other) people going through it.“

Together, they're finding joy and hope.

Cox Media Group