Latoya likes spelling and wearing a school uniform, but as warmer weather approaches, the fifth-grader is losing interest in school, says her mom, Desiree Patrick. But I'm not going to dwell on this first year for Latoya in a new school. Now she will know what to expect next year. Under RISE, the children of women who have been incarcerated or addicted are enrolled in well-regarded local private or parochial middle schools. Sponsors, recruited by RISE, pay all or part of a child's tuition for four years.
Some sponsors also act as mentors, or RISE provides the mentors.
Brown doctors Kevin Vigilante and Tim Flanigan created RISE in 1996. The two Miriam Hospital physicians provide health care to jailed or recently released women, many of whom are either HIV-positive, drug addicted or both. They know firsthand that the children of these women often follow in their mothers' footsteps. In our medical work, we have seen too much tragedy from generation to generation. The only way to intervene early in a big way is with education.