San Diego Area Teens Beat the Odds Through Dance
Contact:
Kelly C. Martini, communications director/information officer,
United Methodist Women's Division
Press Room: 714-765-2098; Cell Phone: 610-996-2124; Office Phone: 212-870-3729
By Linda Beher
Anaheim, Cal., May 4, 2006 -- Myeisha Macklin and Bruce Macklin, sister and brother from Spring Valley, Calif., are beating the odds of at-risk children of addicts, alcoholics and ex-offenders. They are thriving on a mix of church, leadership training and dramatic contemporary dance. They became involved with their grandparents' recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism.
The pair perform with Sanctified Souljahz, a San Diego-based teen and young-adult dance group for children and grandchildren of ex-offenders, which will get national exposure Friday, May 5, when the group performs for close to 7,000 women attending United Methodist Women's Assembly at the Anaheim, Calif., Convention Center.
The group was started by teen children of women living at New Entra Casa, a transitional living community for women recently released from prison.
"I'm not doing this for people, but for Jesus," Ms. Macklin said. A senior at MonteVista High School in San Diego, Ms. Macklin and her brother, a sophomore, didn't expect to be closely associated with any church. Both have leadership posts at the Fellowship of Love Divine in San Diego. Their grandmother has been active there since her release from prison.
Recently incarcerated women often have no place to go other than to those who led them to crime in the first place. Before she entered the New Entra Casa program, the Macklins' grandmother stole from them to support her addiction.
"We had to hide our stuff so she couldn't find it," Mr. Macklin said.
The program is small scale. Up to six women live in a large house. New Entra Casa residents develop independent living skills leading to successful transition from incarceration. In addition, ex-offenders who are parents find a supportive environment for connecting with their children. The children, in turn, channel their energy into positive activity like Souljahz.
The Rev. Hazel Dawson, director of New Entra Casa and co-pastor of the Fellowship of Love Divine, said one of her dreams was to reunite young people with their mothers. In 2003, the center bought a block of apartments where women completing an initial transition program could live with their children. Supervision and follow up psychosocial care with professional counselors are part of the support system as the women learn parenting skills, work habits, etiquette, tools for building a drug-free lives and job skills.
New Entra Casa was founded by the Wesleyan Service Guild, a predecessor organization of United Methodist Women. When the house lost its county funding, United Methodists in the area took up the slack with donations.
"The church has determined our future," Mr. Macklin said. He plans to finish high school and attend college. Ms. Macklin will enter Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., in the fall. She plans to major in criminology.
The Women's Division represents United Methodist Women, an organization of nearly one-million members, whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. Members raise close to $25 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.
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Kelly C. Martini
Communications Director/Information Officer
Women's Division, GBGM
United Methodist Church
(212) 870-3729 FAX (212) 870-3736
kmartini@gbgm-umc.org
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/
