Luna Garcia swipes through the photos on her phone until she finds it — the one of a young man with a slight mustache standing against a wall, his blue shirt neatly pressed, holding a chubby baby girl.
It’s the kind of picture someone might snap at a holiday dinner, a grainy image of a girl and her dad. But just out of the frame are armed guards and metal doors. It was visiting day at San Quentin State Prison.
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There are 10 million children who have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. Project WHAT!, which stands for We’re Here and Talking referring to children with incarcerated parents, is a youth development and policy advocacy program dedicated to supporting youth in advocating for changes in policies/practices that affect them. Community Works Youth Theatre offers theater arts as a medium for youth with incarcerated parents to voice their truths and reframe the narrative around parental incarceration.
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