When she was 11 years old, Tarelle Lane’s brother was incarcerated. It put a strain on their close friendship, as Lane, her sister, mother and grandmother had to travel to the outskirts of Michigan to visit him in jail.
Today, Lane is one of many women who have been impacted by the justice system in some way who now work at Free Hearts, an organization committed to uplifting incarcerated people and their families. Some are formerly incarcerated, while others are the family members and friends of incarcerated people.
She and her co-workers provide counseling, court support, housing assistance and other resources for the community they serve.
“When my brother was incarcerated, I was a little girl, so back then, I didn’t realize that we were being impacted,” Lane said. “It makes me much more compassionate because when we go into (the jails) to see the women and just hearing their stories of what they’re going through and what they’ve been through. … My life story makes me more empathetic because I understand.”
On Dec. 13, families arrived at the McGruder Family Resource Center in North Nashville wearing jackets, Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. As parents and guardians signed intake forms, children picked up crayons and holiday-themed coloring sheets. Others painted wooden Christmas tree ornaments.
Volunteers passed out food and drinks while parents and guardians chose from a variety of pajamas donated by the Nashville Metropolitan Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Dawn Harrington, Free Hearts’ executive director, painted butterflies, cartoon characters and other designs onto children’s excited faces while a Christmas playlist played lightly from nearby speakers.
For the past nine years, the Christmas party has provided the families of those impacted by the justice system a space for support and community connection.
“The holidays are some of the most difficult times for children that are separated from their family due to incarceration and deportation,” Harrington said. “I remember when I was incarcerated, the holidays were just the hardest time.
“This is a time that we get to love on the children in our community that are impacted by incarcerations of people that are the silent victims and everything with the mass incarceration and the criminal legal system,” she continued. “We’re just trying to bring some Christmas and some holiday cheer and joy during the time when they need it the most.”
Throughout the event, children ran around with big smiles on their faces. Lane told the Banner it’s like that every year — the children and their parents enjoy themselves, and those who are able to help them feel grateful in return.
“(The children) are extremely happy and grateful and the parents are as well,” she said. “For me, just seeing the joy and how that makes them feel and how we could be of help to families in need is a blessing.”
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
