For many families, the Christmas season is a flutter of present buying, gift wrapping, spreading hints and rumors about the packages under the tree, and finally – on the big day – a whirlwind of bows and torn paper scattered everywhere with much frivolity and laughter.

But for children with incarcerated parents, the situation can be much different. Sixteen-year-old Shae remembers a time when Christmas was a period of tears. The first phase of her life included her father being sent to prison when she was 3, her mother losing custody of her when she was 6, and living with her grandmother who had back-to-back surgeries.

“I had no friends,” Shae remembers. “I didn’t know what was going on. I cried every day.”