Summary(0:20) Newborn son’s open heart surgery -- (2:12) Son’s social problems due to health defects -- (2:20) Removing her son from kindergarten -- (2:33) Placing her son in a group home -- (3:05) Son’s arrest for avoiding a court warrant -- (3:52) Visiting her son in prison -- (4:22) Not knowing what was going on in her son’s life before he was arrested -- (5:29) Experience of visiting Rikers Island prison -- (6:17) Her son’s issues with prison food -- (7:01) Her son getting into fights in prison -- (7:38) Trying to support her son but struggling with his lack of interest in outside help -- (8:34) Long time commitment and barriers to prison visits -- (9:55) Struggle with her son’s lack of responsiveness to programs and help -- (11:13) Identifying early challenges that put her son on a difficult path -- (12:24) Learning about how her children needed different kinds of support -- (15:08) Appreciation for the group home keeping her son off the streets -- (16:32) Reflecting on whether a stronger network of friends would have helped her son -- (17:12) Her son’s promise in school being interrupted by bullying and violence -- (18:22) Hopes for her son’s independence and stable future -- (20:28) Barriers to a fresh start for her son -- (21:29) The limits of parental support -- (22:02) Her other children’s efforts to support her son -- (22:44) Her son’s accomplishments and positive memories -- (23:49) Potential negative influence of her son’s friend group -- (24:13) Reflecting on the failures of the school environment her son was in from an early age.
NoteAudio interview conducted on November 9, 2016, by Carmen Lopez at Central Library. Collected through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
SubjectHeart--Surgery; Health ; Gastrostomy ; Group homes ; Deaf ; Special education ; Arrest ; Commissary ; Rikers Island (N.Y.) ; Prisons--New York (State) ; Prison visits ; Legal Aid Society ; Gangs--New York (State) ; Bullying ; Violence
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TitleOral history interview conducted with Sonya Nesmith on 2016 November 09.