Jessica Johnson, left, puts presents under a tree with her nieces Gloria Johnson, center,16, and Yvonne Wallace, 18, after a Hope For Prisoners gift delivery Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Wallace is holding her one-year-old daughter Rose. Some of the presents will go to other Johnson siblings who live with other family members, Jessica said.
Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Stephen Johnson won’t be seeing his children this Christmas, not face-to-face anyway. He’s got another year to serve in a state halfway house.
His sister Jessica Johnson is taking care of two of his six children, ages 16 and 18, and a grandchild.
And a group called Hope For Prisoners is trying to help take care of them all this holiday season, providing food, gifts and a ray of optimism.
“We just want to make sure that they have a Christmas experience. Not only do we want to really bless the kids, we want to put a strong emphasis on the guardians,” said Jon Ponder, CEO of the nonprofit that helps former inmates reintegrate into society.
“These are the grandmas, the aunts and uncles who … take the time out to raise someone else’s kids while their loved one is paying their debt to society,” Ponder said.
Jessica Johnson said she and her husband were almost empty-nesters when they took in the children.
“You don’t expect to have three more kids and then you do,” she said. “Not that I would give them away for anything.”
On a recent day, Ponder was at Johnson’s home unloading a bus filled with gifts — five bicycles and armfuls of stuffed animals. Some of the presents will go to the other siblings.
Donations came from churches, including The Crossing and City Light, philanthropists Bob and Sandy Ellis and the Three Square food bank, among others.
SOS Radio, a Las Vegas-based religious network, has also partnered with the nonprofit this year, and the community has stepped up “bigger than ever before,” Ponder said.
“Whenever there’s challenges that we face, we have a way of just coming together here in Las Vegas,” Ponder said.
Ponder said 2020 has been a particularly challenging year, and the group plans to help 50 families, delivering gifts and holiday cheer right up until the big day.
“If we can alleviate some of the stress and strain that the caregivers and foster parents and guardians are experiencing during this time, I think that would be great,” he said.
“Another thing, we want to let the children know that they’re loved and cared for,” he said.
Adding to the stress this year, families cannot visit their loved ones who are incarcerated in person because of the coronavirus threat.
Jessica Johnson said her brother’s children were planning to do a Zoom call with their father a few days before Christmas.
For that, they are thankful, she said. “Just them seeing him is amazing,” she said.
