Incarcerate US Podcast Host Julie Cottingham Interviews Antoine Patton, Executive Director and Founder of Photopatch
EMPOWERING THE YOUTH WITH PARENTS IN PRISON.
Antoine Patton a former prisoner, and Current CEO and Founder of the Photo Patch Foundation – a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit organization talks to our host Julie Cottingham about what inspired his PhotoPatch Foundation, how it began and where he see’s it going in the future.
During this powerful interview Antoine opens up about his personal prison experience, the heartache of being an incarcerated parent and how he was inspired to find a way for other incarcerated parents and their children not to feel this absence in such a significant and often damaging way.
For as little as $5 will ensure a child has that connection to an absent parent, to be in a child’s memories you have to be in their life today. Parental absence is something that causes early trauma and can cause years of pain if never dealt with. The unique parent-child relationship impacts all other relationships, if we want to change a child’s future we must make those changes now.
About Photopatch
The Photo Patch Mobile App helps Children communicate with their incarcerated parent. Every month, we ask children to upload letters and pictures that they would like to send to their parents. Photo Patch prints, packages, ships the mail on their behalf. We ensure: Quality photos and letters are printed, Photos and letters are placed in prison-appropriate packaging, Envelopes have valid shipping and return addresses, Envelopes have sufficient amount of postage attached, The mail is delivered in a timely fashion, Children are notified that their mail has been printed, packaged and shipped
One Big Support System
Help us provide them tools, resources and opportunities to be the best leaders they can be.
Did you Know? Your $5 donation helps a child send 1 letter and up to 30 photos to their mom or dad!
Our Mission
Photo Patch Foundation endeavors to demystify what children of incarcerated parents face and need, as there is often a disconnect between what people suspect and reality. Traumatized by the sudden separation when their incarcerated parents are taken away, children of all ages are at risk of:
Low self-esteem, impaired achievement motivation, and poor peer relations. In addition, these children contend with feelings like anxiety, shame, sadness, grief, social isolation and guilt. The children will often withdraw and regress developmentally, exhibiting behaviors of young children, like bed-wetting… as the children reach adolescence, they may begin to act out in anti-social ways. Searching for attention, pre-teens and teens are at a high risk for delinquency, drug addiction, and gang involvement.