HONOLULU - Incarcerated mothers spent time with their children for Kids’ Day for a belated Mother’s Day celebration at the Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC) today, June 1, 2024.

Thirteen mothers and 23 children participated in the event that originally was scheduled to be in mid-May, but heavy rains prompted WCCC to reschedule it.

Wellspring Covenant Church hosted Kids’ Day to facilitate quality time between mothers and their children. The main purpose of the event is to help mothers bond with their children and to stop the generational cycle of incarceration, said Wellspring Covenant Church Kids’ Day Coordinator Susan Soken.

“It’s building those relationships,” Soken said, adding that maintaining and strengthening relationships with their kids gives mothers motivation to return to the community and reunite with their children. “It gives them a purpose.”

 Mothers played games and made crafts with their children and enjoyed a barbecue lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and nachos. Face painting and a photo booth were also part of the fun-filled 3 1/2-hour event.

Donations from the Wellspring Covenant Church and its community partners made the event possible.

Warden Ione “Noni” Guillonta of the WCCC thanked staff from the facility’s Offender Services Section for working alongside members of the Wellspring Covenant Church to make this day happen. “WCCC is always looking for ways to help our women enhance their parenting and other skills related to their successful return to the community,” Guillonta said.

Director Tommy Johnson of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) said, “Events such as these are critically important to both the wellbeing of the mothers and their children and serve to strengthen and reinforce bonds between mother and child. The department is very grateful to Wellspring Covenant Church, its community partners, and our staff for their dedication and commitment to ensuring this event took place.”