Doing Time-Outside St Nicholas’ Trust Support for Prisoners’ Families A Conference on the Effects of Imprisonment on Families _________________________________________ May 13th, 2011. Cork Programme 9.30 – 10.00 Registration 10.00 – 10.30 Welcome and official opening by Mr Brian Purcell, Director General of the Irish Prison Service 10.30 – 11.30 Ms Farida Anderson, MBE, CEO of POP (Partners of Prisoners, UK) Farida Anderson founded POPS in 1988, starting with a small grass roots support agency which has since developed into one that employs over 100 staff and 30 volunteers. Her work is informed by personal experience in this area. 11.30 – 12.00 Tea/Coffee break 12.00 – 1.00 St Nicholas Trust – Support for Prisoners Families, Cork St Nicholas Trust was established in 2008 to identify the needs and issues which concern prisoners families and to provide support and assistance to them, so that relationships can be maintained during the sentence and afterwards. The group provides practical information to families and offers a safe, confidential environment for open discussion and support. 1.00 – 2.00 Lunch 2.00 – 2.45 Bedford Row Family Project, Limerick The Bedford Row Family Project seeks to facilitate the families of prisoners, as a group sharing common interests, to identify the needs and issues which are of importance to them, to develop strategies to address those issues and needs, to carry those strategies through to implementation and to monitor and evaluate progress. Their Research Report entitled 'Voices of Families Affected by Imprisonment' was published in Feb 2008. 2.45 – 4.00 pm Workshop/Discussion Groups 1. Prison and the child – The effects of imprisonment on children, the research, and the rights of the child 2. Prison and relationships – Going Home – How imprisonment affects relationships, how to maintain those relationships and learning to live together again on release. _______________________________________________________ Doing Time Outside - St Nicholas’ Trust - Conference, Cork 2011 Introduction Lisa, Chairperson, St Nicholas Trust. When we think of a crime, we think of the victims and their families. We sympathise with them and understand the pain and suffering they experience as a result of the crime committed against them. When the perpetrators of these crimes are caught and sent to jail, these victims and their families hopefully get some kind of closure. However the consequences of a crime can be far reaching and crime touches the lives of many people whom at first glance one would not think of as being a victim of crime but in a way they are. Among these are the families of the offenders. These family members – partners, spouses, parents, grandparents, children, brothers, sisters – have done nothing wrong and yet they also experience feelings of despair, loss, isolation, shame, anger and the stigma of being associated with the crime. All of these problems seem even greater when it is the first time these families come into contact with the Gardaí, the Courts, the Legal System and the Prison System. They are entering a world new to them. What can prepare someone for this? The answer is nothing. But help and support can be offered. Before St. Nicholas Trust was set up there was no official support service or agency specifically designed to meet the needs of family members. When they needed some advice or even just a shoulder to cry on. When they had lots of questions to be answered, they didn’t know who to ask or who to turn to. It was because of this that in March 2008 a group of people made up of family members of people who were in prison for the first time, a member of the probation operating within Cork prison and members of the Education unit came together with the common aim of setting up a support group. All of these people work on a voluntary basis with this project, outside of their normal working hours. In a way it happened like lots of good things happen, when a certain group of people were in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. The family members had specific needs to be addressed, the professionals had experience and much needed access to information and prison personnel. All of them simultaneously recognised a gap in services. Our support group met regularly in a city centre location and at the beginning, it was simply but vitally, a place where people could feel free to talk in a safe, confidential environment with others who in effect were in the same boat as they too had found themselves. Like a lot of support groups, only the other people in the group can truly understand what the others are going through. Many felt there is a stigma involved in even speaking about prison, let alone have a loved one there. They found solace in the fact that they were not alone and that everybody there could relate to what they were speaking about. This group became known as St Nicholas Trust. St Nicholas is a patron saint of children. _______________________________________________________ Doing Time Outside - St Nicholas’ Trust - Conference, Cork 2011 Our primary objectives are to facilitate the families of prisoners as a specific group, sharing common interests. We try to identify the needs and issues that cause concern, to provide practical information to families when a loved one is sentenced to prison and to implement strategies that would address their needs. We work on Community Development principles, to facilitate self-development, empowerment and full participation in all decision-making processes. We also work on the basis that the more a prisoner maintains his ties with his family, the more he is motivated to change and stay out of prison. Family ties are strained when someone goes to prison. The ones who are left behind feel hurt and betrayed by the offender, while at the same time they fear for them, and that fear is worsened by simply not knowing what is happening from the moment he is taken from the court until they meet again. Many of our members describe the first night after the prisoner is taken from the court, being unable to sleep and wondering they their partner, husband, father, son was safe. Not really knowing what the next day would bring. Another of our aims is to increase public awareness of the experiences of prisoners’ families and to be an advocate for the rights of children of prisoners. The rights of these children to maintain a relationship with their fathers or mothers while they are In a way it happened like lots of in prison and the right to be free from good things happen, when a certain judgement themselves. group of people were in the right Our early meetings were mainly (or wrong) place at the right time. support meetings. After a period of time, having come to terms with our situations and learning to manage our lives, it was decided to take a new direction and along with the continuing to support existing and new members, it was decided to share our experiences with other groups and to try to improve the services for people who are visiting Cork prison. The first project we undertook was the production of a booklet, Visiting Cork Prison, which has been warmly welcomed by the Governor of Cork Prison Mr. Jim Collins and also by the Irish Prison Service. This booklet is based on all the questions our group wanted to ask when they were in the situation of going to visit the prison for the first time. It contains information about where the prison was, how to get there from perhaps the bus or train stations, prison visiting times, what the daily life of the prisoner would generally entail, what services and courses were available to them and also some personal heartfelt inputs from members of St. Nicholas Trust. This booklet was very kindly printed by Arbour Hill Prison. We continually distribute this booklet to numerous agencies and also make it available in the waiting room in the prison. We have other plans too. But I’ll speak about those at the end of our presentation. In the meantime, our members have put together some words describing the experiences of the people who have come to the group. These stories are both personal and general. They’re based on the journey we’ve been taken on over the last few years. We didn’t ask to go on this journey but we’ve done our best to make the most out of it, and to use what we have learned to help anyone else coming down this road. _______________________________________________________ Doing Time Outside - St Nicholas’ Trust - Conference, Cork 2011 Summary of Opening address by Mr Brian Purcell, Director General of the Irish Prison Service. When a person is committed into custody, it affects not only that person but also a wider network of others. Everybody sentenced to prison is somebody’s son, daughter, brother, sister, relative or friend. For prisoners and their families, the feeling of separation is one of the most painful effects of imprisonment. Imprisonment is the greatest penalty that the state can impose on its citizens and the effects are very difficult for both the prisoner and their families and this is why family contact, such as letters, phone calls and visits are so important. Research has shown that the maintenance of these contacts is important in aiding in the re-settlement of these prisoners and accordingly help in reducing the risk of re- offending. The families of prisoners can face emotional, financial, relational and even physical hardships. They can often feel isolated and lost, in strained circumstances for which they are often ill prepared.