Linda Rodriguez visits Children’s Village, a residential treatment center in upstate New York, to interview youth who have parents in prison. The boys describe their conflicted and confusing feelings, and how participating in a peer support group helps them cope.

Prompts for discussion and/or writing:

--Have you ever participated in a support group with other teens? What was the experience like? Did it help you with the problem you were facing? Why or why not?

--Some kids who have parents in prison are confused about whether they should still look up to their parents. Have you ever been confused or conflicted about whether to look up to a parent? What made you confused?

--One young person in the article says he uses his father’s example to be a peaceful person: because his father did bad things, the young person walks away from fights. In what ways have you either followed your parent’s example, or done things differently?