Osborne's Family Centers reopen at nine upstate New York Locations

We are happy to announce the recent reopening of Osborne’s Family Centers at nine locations in upstate New York. After a two-year closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our Family Centers have resumed offering dedicated spaces within prison visiting rooms where children can play and learn with their incarcerated loved ones. Stocked with children’s books, toys, board games, art supplies, and more, our nine Family Centers provide loved ones and children the opportunity to spend quality time with each other.

Visiting families and children at Sing Sing Correctional Facility are greeted by a fun and colorful mural when they arrive. The imaginative Family Center mural is a collaborative effort created by men currently incarcerated at Sing Sing. Over a year in the making, the muralists faced various threats and constraints – like rigid schedules and poor painting materials – that could have derailed the art project. Nevertheless, the artists saw this project through. Ryan Lawrence, one of the Family Center muralists, remained committed to completing the mural because the process gave him a brief sense of autonomy amidst a regimented life inside.

The “enchanted forest” themed mural brought new life to the Sing Sing Family Center. Alex, a Sesame Street character with an incarcerated father, is a recurring motif featured along the freshly painted Family Center walls. The blue-haired Muppet can be seen riding a flying pink dragon, peacefully fishing at a pond, and gleefully frolicking through a garden. Darrian Bennett, another Sing Sing muralist, took creative advice from his teenage daughter at a recent visit and credited her for the “cotton candy pink” clouds in the mural.

Read about how Sesame Street’s Little Children, Big Challenges supports our work serving children of incarcerated parents.

Parental incarceration is a challenging topic for both caregivers and children to approach. Our Family Centers aim to provide a welcoming space to help children develop a relationship with their incarcerated loved ones.