Ride for Social Justice raises money to support programs for children with incarcerated parents

PITTSBURGH — Fourteen-year-old Morrell Rogers knows the struggles every teenager faces.

But, he also knows many kids his age and younger have an uphill battle when one parent, or both, are in jail.

“People only having one or no parents is something that just can’t be happening in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, or the world in general,” Rogers said. “You don’t have as much support, any role models. I think that’s one of the main things.”

Amachi Pittsburgh is working to change that.

“We provide mentoring, youth leadership development, civic engagement, and family support so the whole family unit can access the resources they need,” said Anna Hollis Kander, Executive Director of Amachi Pittsburgh.

Those resources cost time and money, so that’s why the organization held the Ride for Social Justice on Saturday morning.

It’s the third time this bike ride has been held in Pittsburgh to raise money to support the programs. This year, there are more than 12,000 kids in Allegheny County with a parent in jail.

“[It’s] actually 35,000 that are impacted during their childhood, at some point during their childhood, so it’s a huge issue,” Hollis Kander said.

That huge issue connects to the main challenge Rogers said many kids his age face — not having a role model.

“You won’t grow up and know things that maybe a dad or mom could have taught you,” Rogers said.

Amachi Pittsburgh said it has helped more than 9 in 10 kids they’ve worked with in the last two decades to stop the generational cycle of parental incarceration.

For Hollis Cander, seeing so many people show up for Saturday’s Ride for Social Justice, whether to bike four, 25, or 40 miles, tells her a lot.

“It tells us to keep going, that we’re doing the right thing,” she said.

Amachi hopes this bike ride continues to grow every year so they can help more kids in the future.

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