Ann Adalist-Estrin
December 7, 1951 - April 11, 2024
See Us, Support Us mourns the passing of our dear friend, mentor, and fellow advocate who we will dearly miss. Ann was a pioneering force as the Director of the National Resource Center for Children and Families of the Incarcerated, and one of the few voices back in the 1980s and '90s to advocate for children with incarcerated parents, and to do so by creating opportunities for young people to speak for themselves.
Ann was a core member of the SUSU Planning Team from SUSU's inception in 2015, and spoke at several SUSU symposia over the years. She was an unstoppable trainer, advocate, partner, and brilliant mind. She will be deeply missed. Our thoughts go out to her family and all who loved her.
About See Us, Support Us
See Us, Support Us (SUSU) raises awareness about and increases support for children of incarcerated parents. SUSU is a year-round effort with national partners, culminating in a month of action in October. Sign up for SUSU Network emails to receive quarterly updates about how you can SEE and SUPPORT children year-round.
During October 2023, SUSU focused on a parent’s reentry, which can be joyous and challenging for children.
►Learn how to support children from the point of a parent’s arrest through reentry.
►Find self-care tips and resources to help you cope with parental arrest, incarceration, and reentry.
►Visit Voices from SUSU to listen to podcasts, see art, and find advice from youth with incarcerated parents.
►Gain strategies for creating judgment-free, affirming environments.
Engage in See Us, Support Us
Why is the arrest experience so harsh that a child has to believe it was imaginary sometimes in order to get through it and its aftermath. The pain and outrage I feel is why I want to advocate for child-sensitive arrest protocols, data collection, and training.
I didn’t wanna forget him ever… he was my dad. And what if I never get a chance to visit him again...So just in case, I sat there taking pictures in my mind and storing them in this little section I have where all the thoughts about him were.
For many system-impacted children, education can be the lifeline that helps them succeed in the face of parental incarceration. It can give purpose, belonging and self-esteem. Though it took me a while, education was my lifeline too.