‘Child and Family Advocate of the Year’ Award
The tireless work of an FCA ministry in Wildomar, California has not gone unnoticed. Bob and Mona Davies, co-founders of Community Outreach Ministry, strive to brighten the futures of local at-risk youth, many whose parents are incarcerated.
The Davies were honored June 3 with the Child and Family Advocate of the Year award from HOPE Collaborative, the child abuse council of Riverside County in California.
The award, which recognizes exemplary dedication and commitment to the youth of local communities, has been given annually since 2013 to a person or organization in each district of Riverside County.
County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said, “I was honored to nominate Bob and Mona Davies for the 2016 HOPE Child and Advocate of the Year Award because they serve the needs of a very vulnerable and at-risk population of youth whose parents have been incarcerated.”
Through Community Outreach Ministry, the Davies offer summer camps for vulnerable youth and also provide year-round access to mentoring. For the past several years, they have held Angel Tree Christmas parties, distributing gifts to more than 200 children.
Jeffries noted that Bob and Mona, by breaking the cycle of crime, poverty, illiteracy, violence, delinquency, school dropout and destructive behaviors, help prevent at-risk youth from entering the juvenile/criminal justice system.
The award came on the heels of Mona Davies’ completion of her doctoral dissertation titled, “Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration: Stories of My Work as a Missionary to Children of Incarcerated Parents,” published by the United States Library of Congress. “The model provides innovative programming for children of incarcerated parents, caregivers, and incarcerated parents to help break the cycle,” she said.
Her model also received the endorsement of Frank Lofaro, CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Prison Fellowship International, a global association with affiliates in over 120 countries whose mission is to focus on justice and reconciliation by promoting dignity and rehabilitation of offenders. The Davies and Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree have been partners for 15 years caring, sharing and saving the lives of children of incarcerated parents in Riverside County.
