MTC’s Kyle Correctional Center in Texas knows how important it is for incarcerated men to stay connected to their families. So, they started a program called the messages project. The men read a book to their children on video and then the facility sends it to their loved ones. The chaplain talks about the value of the project followed by one man who’s been touched by the opportunity.

“It was a great program,” says Chaplain Michael McComb. “The guys come together and chose a book to read to their child, on video, while they read book. And they have an opportunity to make a message to their child…It’s just a good opportunity for the men to connect with their child and tell them that they love them.”

“It really means a lot to me,” explains Louis Gaines who is a resident at the Kyle facility. “I haven’t seen my daughter since January. Their mother’s in a new relationship, so I don’t get a lot of visits. So, this is something she can keep and watch over and over and over again to see daddy’s face—big ole harry face…I think that any dad, especially one that has to span the distance, or the family is too far to travel or there’s just that line of separation like in my case, it means a lot to the dads, to the kids…I hope that anybody watching this would support it and know how much it means to us. I’m going to start to get a little emotional there. But, it’s a really great project. God bless these people, and thanks a lot for letting us have it here.”