Uncrowned Community Builders

Barbara Kirkland Dennis is a native of Buffalo who, for more than twenty-five years, has demonstrated a sincere commitment to family and community restoration. Her dedication in this field of work is a result of the experiences in her own life.

She attended Buffalo P.S. #32, P.S. #31, and East High School. She graduated from the BOCES/New York State School for Practical Nursing in 1965. Later she went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from Empire State College in Community and Human Services Substance Abuse Counseling in addition to an Applied Sciences degree in Social Sciences.

As a divorced mother with three teenagers and a three-year-old toddler, she sought assistance in providing direction for her sixteen-year-old son who had not committed a crime. She, like many other African American mothers, pursued a more traditional path to seek Family Court help. Barbara, like other mothers, didn't have a clear understanding of adolescent crisis, nor did she think that the justice system that she had asked for help would be so uncaring and destructive to her family. She notes that her experiences in life have really been an education towards gaining her freedom. She also feels she has obtained a doctorate degree via the University of Hard Knocks. As if in the spirit of Sojourner Truth, Barbara would not accept just herself being free.

Thus, Barbara, a Human Service provider and a highly motivated individual, has effectively advocated for families since 1976. She became the first resident and member of the Kensington-Bailey Neighborhood Housing Services to be elected President of its Board of Directors after her efforts brought forth more than four hundred new residents and members. In addition, she became the relentless motivational force behind the creation and implementation of the first New York State Division for Youth's Family Advocacy Component at Masten Park's Community Involvement Program.

By 1980, Barbara had founded M.O.T.I.C., Mothers Of Those In Crisis. Ms. Dennis became the forerunner in Family Advocacy and Restoration as she addressed the issues of injustice in the Justice System. M.O.T.I.C. is a self-supported group of female heads of households with family members involved in the court system at every level. M.O.T.I.C. members are dedicated, skilled volunteers who share and work with each other and others in healing from and dealing with the pain, sorrow, destruction, and devastation of losing a member to the Criminal Justice System.

Barbara's accomplishments are many. She was the first African American to be Infirmary nurse at the Erie County Jail/Holding Center. Her civic and social activities include: African American Issues delegate (1993); implementer of Children First Adopting a New Covenant on Behalf of the Next Generation; African World Youth and Young Adult Conference; Alternatives to Incarceration Task Force; Buffalo Community Partnership Coalition; Buffalo Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition; Erie County Legislatures City/County Crime Task Force/Family Restoration; Genesee Humboldt Junior High School Self Enrichment Program; Masten Park Community Involvement Program; National Association of Sentencing Advocates, Washington, D.C.; Neighborhood Housing Services of Buffalo Inc.; South Park High School - Community Educator and Parent Advisory Council; The Sentencing Project Washington, D.C.; Urban Christian Ministry; and the Youth Planning Council of the Near East Side.