Success Stories
Amachi Pittsburgh
In 2003, Serving Leaders and Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation joined the vision of founder Lisa Thorpe-Vaughn in creating Amachi Pittsburgh to serve our region's children of prisoners, "ensuring that all children are rightfully recognized as children of promise." Today, under the leadership of Anna Hollis, Amachi Pittsburgh continues to build on Lisa Thorpe-Vaughn's strong founding vision to bring people of faith together with "children of promise" in close, loving mentoring relationships.
Mentoring really Works
Amachi Pittsburgh builds partnerships between area congregations and children whose parents are incarcerated. In Allegheny County, 7,000 children have a parent in prison, and statistics show that these children are among the most "at-risk" of all children. Statistics also show that a loving mentor can make a life-altering difference in the life of a child who is at risk.
Collaboration key to Success
Amachi Pittsburgh works collaboratively with area congregations, the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and numerous other social and civic organizations to bring best resources to the children they serve. Beyond the services provided by other excellent mentoring agencies in our area, Amachi Pittsburgh provides the unique service and expertise required to successfully mentor and support children of prisoners.
Freeing Kids from Stigma
Children from incarcerated families suffer unique challenges. There is a stigma they must overcome; the very act of identifying them is difficult, as there is understandable family shame that results in hiding the fact of an incarceration. They have witnessed unusually difficult situations, including many times the arrest of their loved parent. And they frequently relocate due to financial instability. Amachi Pittsburgh is equipped to successfully meet these children in ways that serve their needs.
Since the inception of Amachi Pittsburgh, over 450 children of incarcerated parents have received a loving mentor through the work that Anna and her team do.
