This petition inspired action!

If you didn't already know, myself and a small group of amazing and compassionate women have been working on increasing awareness around the dangers of incarcerating young people in adult jails. While the growth and exposure of this petition has been slower than we hoped, we are determined to keep working away at it while in the meantime, doing something to help NOW. To this end we have formed a Halifax chapter of MOMS = Mother's Offering Mutual Support, inspired and modeled after the MOMS Ottawa family support and advocacy group. MOMS Ottawa started out like us, with four women committed to supporting people who have a love one who is incarcerated. This group is not just for moms though, they are open to and do indeed support other members of the family as they go through this life changing journey; the difficult experience of the loss of a loved one into the complicated and often times cruel and inhumane jails and prisons of our criminal justice system. Though the details are still coming together (meeting location and times) this group will follow MOMS Ottawa in their mandate to share practical information and advice about the justice and corrections process and more so, offer a place where you can talk openly, without worrying about facing judgement or criticism. In fact we skyped into the MOMS Ottawa meeting on June 1st to learn from them and see how they support each other and it was very touching as there was an abundance of compassion and empathy for the loss and suffering common to incarcerated people and their families. This new to Halifax support group already has the backing of several local organizations are interested in helping us increase awareness about this support group. Moreover, the MOMS Ottawa group has been true comrades inviting us to attend their meeting, sharing their learnings and documentation, and posting this petition on their website under the Advocacy link. We know the issue this petition addresses is both politically charged and personally sensitive to many and perhaps because of that some may not have signed it. The reasons for not signing may vary from not having the time when it originally came to their attention, to needing time to think about it and, or, maybe they were reluctant to put their name on a controversial campaign such as this. Regardless, MOMS Halifax and I are asking you to share this petition if you haven't already and if you have already, maybe share it with an organization in your area or a specific individual in your life that you think might be in support of, or interested in this issue. Finally, if you post and share the link consider letting people know that signing it doesn't mean you will get a lot of spam or, that your name is publicized - that only happens when you add a comment. For those who did leave a comment, I extend a warm thanks as your comments bring the petition to life and may encourage others to sign. Thank you for your support thus far and thank you in advance for your continued/additional support <3 MOMS Halifax and Leah Crowell moms_halifax@mail.com