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| House Provides Home for Kids of Inmates |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/02/2003 |
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The refuge run by Pete and Angie Spackman is made of brick, but it's built on hope. The Spackmans operate Adullum, a home for children whose parents are imprisoned. Named for the biblical cave where David sought refuge, the one-story house in Wetumpka, Alabama offers a stable life away from crime and poverty. The kids come from tough circumstances: One child's mother shot a man; another was born addicted to crack cocaine; one previously lived in the hallway of a run-down apartment complex in Nashville. The Spackmans, both natives of Great Britain, provide the shelter free of charge by relying on donations and a $7,000 grant from the Tom and Amy Methvyn Foundation, a charitable organization. It is a testimony to faith, they say, that other believers have helped them build the house in a bedroom community of Montgomery, near Elmore County Jail and the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. The children at Adullum generally 'have no other option, no other place to go,' said Mrs. Spackman, 45. 'Most of our children, the fathers are an unknown entity' or there is no other family, she said. The couple have cared for children whose mothers were imprisoned since 1991 as friends of the inmates, receiving temporary custody. They began by caring for children in their Deatsville home. Last year, the couple received approval from the state to operate the house they built in Wetumpka as a boarding home and preschool for inmates' children. Mrs. Spackman said the mothers provide for the children if they can. Women grant one-year custody of their kids, and renew that annually if necessary, Spackman said. The couple provide three square meals a day, operate an onsite home school and help the children visit their parent regularly in prison. The Spackmans operate the home and a home-schooling program on their 18-acre lot. The couple moved to the United States after working in 1987 for a prison outreach program in Millbrook sponsored by the League of Prayer in Montgomery. After their experience, they decided to move permanently to the United States. Over the years, the Spackmans have cared for about 20 children at both locations, from birth through 10. The children have regular toys dolls from the movie 'Toy Story,' and Hot Wheels cars. There is a swing set in the back and an enclosed trampoline. They have physical education as part of their schooling, along with crafts lessons and baking classes, all taught by the Spackmans' daughters or two of the daughters' husbands. The children participate in morning prayer meetings, which are more like singalongs than church. The children's prayers are colored with the knowledge their mothers are in jail. 'I pray for D.C.'s mom in jail,' said Colton, a 6-year-old the family has been caring for since birth. D.C. is another 6-year-old the couple have cared for since birth. The house was looked on with some suspicion when it started, Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said. 'People were very reluctant to see and understand their side,' Franklin said. 'They were set in their ways and couldn't understand why they wanted to help `the bad guys.'' Today, with the program in place for about three years in Wetumpka, people see it differently. 'There are good things going on there,' Franklin said. |
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