Virginia Jail Holds Father-Daughter Dance
When a father is incarcerated, they tend to miss out on a lot in the lives of their children, which is why one jail in Virginia began hosting a father-daughter dance.
Ronnell Glasgow, a man incarcerated for seven years for selling drugs, stated, ““I am definitely failing as a parent right now, just by being out of her life.”
As these troubled men serve out their sentences, their children pay a price, often spending the most important years of their lives without active father figures.
According to ABC News, Richmond City Jail in Virginia began hosting father-daughter dances.
The report continued on to say the idea was the brainchild of Angela Patton, who runs Camp Diva, a Richmond nonprofit aimed at empowering young girls.
Patton had overheard the concerns of a daughter who had a father in jail. The young girl wanted to attend an event where she could dance with her father too, like others girls and their fathers across the city.
Patton convinced Richmond City Sheriff C. T. Woody Jr. to host the dance inside the jail, and he agreed.
When asked, Woody stated:
“They are not hard core criminals, they deserve a second chance.” And they can be very good citizens and the best way to make a good citizen is to make good fathers.”
Woody continued on to say: “I did this because I know how important family is. Someone saved me. I haven’t always been a law-abiding, law enforcement officer.”
According to ABC News, Hours before the dance, the men expected to meet their daughters are brought suits and dress shoes to their jail cells. Some of them are wearing a tie for the first time.
Events such as these are rare bonding moments that the children of inmates can have with their parent.
Woody says he agreed to this event because he feels that inmates who are allowed to dance with their daughters will be reminded why they should never return to jail once they’re released.
This is a very special privilege for those who haven’t committed serious crimes and who are in lower level housing units.
Say if an inmate was in segregation or even on death row while in prision, they wouldn’t be allowed special privilages such as the father-daughter dance that the Richmond City Jail in Virginia held.
ABC News stated, “when the men do time, their daughters do time, and they told us they plan to never let that happen to the girls again,” which seems like good motivation provided by the jail father-daughter dance.
[Image via Shutterstock/Cheryl Casey]
