Father’s Day can be a mixed bag, even for those of us with the best of fathers. Maybe your dad was a pillar of the community but didn’t support your dreams. Maybe your dad provided above and beyond for your family’s needs but missed all your dance recitals for work. Maybe your dad was loving but died far sooner than anyone expected. Maybe you wish you could’ve known your dad, but divorce shattered your family.

For some children ― such as the 15% of Oklahoma children that have a parent in prison during their growing up years ― the bittersweetness of Father’s Day lacks any semblance of sweet. Perhaps a little girl’s dad had tried to take care of her but allowed addiction to ruin his right to parent. Everything came crashing down and he is facing a decade in prison, the remainder of his daughter’s childhood years.

Now, this girl is without a father on Father’s Day or any other day. If she wanted to visit him, it’s unlikely she’d be able to. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that two-thirds of parents in prison with minor children have never received a visit from them.

Children with imprisoned fathers are more likely to experience depression, and it’s no wonder why. When they can’t see their parents, these children’s imaginations run rampant with images of their fathers covered in bruises or locked in cages. Informed by entertainment’s view of prison, they don’t dare hope their daddy is actually OK.

For many of these children, the video they receive from OK Messages Project is the only way they see their parent for years. A literacy and prevention program, OK Messages Project connects incarcerated parents to their children through videos of reading books and sharing hopeful truth, fostering healthy relationships between thousands of incarcerated parents and their children.

Our volunteer team enters Oklahoma prisons and trains incarcerated parents how to read interactively and speak encouragement to their kids, which is key for many children who blame themselves for their parents’ imprisonment. They often believe, “If I had been a better kid, my dad wouldn’t have done that.” So, we teach the parents to say things like, “It’s not your fault.” “I’m safe.” “I’m working to become a better dad.” These girls and boys can see that their dad is healthy and sober and hear about his accomplishments and growth, like earning a GED or attending Bible studies.

One dad in the program shared with us, “My kids love the videos! It’s helped them realize their father still loves and cares for them. I’ve received photos of my children watching my videos and reading along. This has encouraged me to pursue a relationship with my kids and be a positive role model even though I am away from them.”

The benefits of our program are countless. Children whose dads read to them develop better language skills. Children with involved dads have fewer behavior problems in middle childhood and adolescence and lower levels of anxiety and depression. Education and literacy aid in breaking generational cycles of incarceration and poverty.

This Father’s Day, it’s crucial to remember the impact of a father’s presence, even from afar. Programs like ours are not just helping children maintain a connection with their fathers; they are sowing seeds of hope and resilience, breaking the cycle of incarceration one family at a time. By supporting such initiatives, we can give more children the chance to feel the sweetness of Father’s Day, regardless of their circumstances.

Cheri Fuller is founder and director of OK Messages Project.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma program remembers incarcerated dads on Father’s Day