Family Connections Program – East Mesa Reentry Facility

February 2, 2016 – Our participants receiving a certificate of recognition for their commitment to our Extended Program (six-session program) and their children.

Quotes from Participants:

“I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to reconnect with my boy and my family. I still am camera shy. [My boy] is 3, his name is Salvador. This was real cool thing for Christmas, holidays, Thanksgiving. He bugs my girl about [watching] the video every day. Thank you.”

“I was really close to them [his children] before I came here. This is my first time being in jail. I was told about this program and I signed up and did the one-time [workshop] and my kids really loved it. When I talked to them on the phone they asked when I was going to send them another one. I signed up for the Extended Program and then when they asked I could say, ‘in two weeks I will send you another one.’ They then started telling me what kind of books they liked and what they wanted me to read. [Reading Legacies] has a lot of books so that was a lot of help. They read the book and watch the DVD before they go to bed so it’s like me being there, not all the way, but at least a little bit of time [during the video]. My little girl is going to be 12 years-old next month, so she is asking me to send her longer [chapter] books. I tell her this is all I can send you now but when I get out that’s one of my goals to be [spending] more time with them and go to the library and get books because reading is really good. It develops their mind and they can learn more about any subject when they go to school. They love it and I love this program, I think it’s really good. It’s one of the best programs they got here.”

Nicole Vargas

My name is Nicole Vargas. I joined the Reading Legacies team in January 2023. I have a BA in Child Development from Point Loma Nazarene University and 6 years’ experience working with children from ages infancy to adolescence. My role as the Storybook Readers Program Manager is to oversee the programing and implementation of our Youth Readers and Storybook Inspirations programs. As a child development professional, I have firsthand experience seeing the immense impact that reading aloud to children has on their early literacy skills and relationship building within the family and community. One of my favorite children’s books is If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff.