The Detained Children’s Project kicked off the season with a fun and creative summer project. In addition to providing legal services for detained juveniles, CAIR Coalition staff came up with an idea to support our minors in a non-legal, yet meaningful way. Through the “Safe Travels Backpack Project,” our goal for the project was to create a backpack for every child, filled with goodies such as t-shirts and socks, game books, markers and notepads, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and other fun items.
The driver behind this project was to help remedy the negative feelings felt by many unaccompanied minors in detention. Due to the nature of the juvenile immigration detention system, many unaccompanied children are transferred frequently, often from Virginia to another detention center across the country. Other minors are reunified with out of state family members, and some choose to return to their home countries. While detention itself can be uncomfortable for the child, frequent traveling can often cause additional apprehension or anxiety for a child.
As such, the project is designed to ensure that every child is given some reassurance prior to his or her journey, in the form of a “Safe Travels Backpack.” Whether transferred to another detention center, reunified with family, or repatriated, CAIR Coalition’s plan is to create enough backpacks for every child leaving our jurisdiction. To start off our project, the law firm of Benach and Ragland, LLP generously donated a set of backpacks, and filled them with thoughtful items ideal for teenagers. The firm even added surprise items like candy, hand-sanitizer, and chapstick. In addition, several law firms and community organizations have offered to create more backpacks in the next coming weeks. We look forward to distributing these backpacks and making a difference for kids in detention.
