Manager
Surviving the global pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis is no mean feat – how, on top of all that, do you cope with a loved one being incarcerated in HMP Barlinnie? The fear, isolation, judgement, stigma, upset & confused children, loss of main income source, shunned by family, friends and the local community, the chance of losing your home, not sure of what the future holds or how you are going to cope. Sounds like a scene from a TV soap opera doesn’t it, unfortunately it’s not, this is the reality for many families affected by imprisonment.
Where do they go for support, who can they trust, who won’t place judgement on them, who will listen when no one else will and help them find the practical and emotional support they need?
Across Scotland independent charities run the visitors support and advice centres in each prison with their importance recognised by the Scottish Government through an annual contribution to core costs.
At HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, the visitors support and advice centre is run by The Croft, a charity set up by the local community and churches over 12 years ago, long before any of the other centres were established, recognising the need to support families affected by imprisonment (being punished for crimes they did not commit – you can read about this in our previous article for the 2019 -2020 Community Justice Glasgow Partnership Annual Reporter ’Supporting Families Who Have Committed No Crime But Are Left Paying The Price Nonetheless’).
In the 2020-21 Annual Reporter in our article ‘Supporting Families Impacted by Imprisonment – A New Dawn’ I told you about the additional difficulties faced by families during the worst of the Covid Pandemic when, for the most part, the prison was closed to visitors. In this article I have provided an update on some of the progress of some of the work to re-establish the service and our plans to take the support we provide to the next level.
Fast forward to 2021-22 the Croft Visitors Support and Advice Centre goes from strength to strength. With over 1200 prisoners in HMP Barlinnie, visits over 7 days a week up till 8pm weeknights, 52 weeks of the year, thousands of family members and friends visit loved ones, requiring support and information to navigate the system. We have direct 1:1 interaction with over 16,000 visitors each year from emotional support to information and advice to practical aid.
Can you imagine on a cold, wet dark winters night taking 3 busses across town with young children to visit your loved one, he needs clothing handed in, money in his prison account, the older children haven’t had time to do their homework, no one has had dinner, the foodbanks are closed, you know you’re going back to a cold home as the electricity meter has no money in it and your struggling to keep it all together for everyone else?
The scenario above is all too familiar to many families visiting HMP Barlinnie so funding was secured and an action plan was put in motion to tackle this in addition to the general work of the Croft. Old partnerships were reformed after a break during lockdown and new ones forged with organisations who were able to provide a more holistic 360’ level of support – encompassing a range of issues faced by families so that they didn’t need to contact many different sources of help and, the complex interlinked nature of these issues were tackled as a whole to facilitate stronger, more sustainable resolutions. That work included:
We provided funds for fuel top up vouchers and referred families to the Wise Group – a leading Social Enterprise working to lift people out of poverty – to provide information & advice on energy management along with leveraging additional funding to help with debt management.
We referred families requiring longer term support and home visits to Families Outside – the only national charity that works solely on behalf of families in Scotland affected by imprisonment.
Housing, homelessness and general/benefits advice was offered from Govan Law Centre and Citzens Advice.
Shopping vouchers for food, clothing and essential household items were given to families. Through a Fareshare (Move On) Glasgow and the West of Scotland subscription food parcels are distributed each week and to help even more, recipe ideas on a budget Activity/arts& crafts packs are given to children – part learning, part fun – and to help keep them amused whilst their carer gets on with other things.
Self-care and positive parenting sessions to support women to be the strongest they can be to take care of their families with our partner Parent Network Scotland.
Wellbeing packs were regularly distributed providing essential toiletries and little treats such as face packs/candles. This may seem trivial in the scheme of things to you and I, but to the recipients it means the world, it shows someone is thinking of them and cares about their wellbeing. When everyone else in your life comes first, this one little gesture means the world and engages on a human level like no other.
Weekly information and activity sessions ran to provide additional support from our partners across a range of subjects, suggested by visitors and families.
Books donated to Scottish prison Service (SPS) were distributed by the Croft by well-known authors such as David Walliams, along with book bug and book week packs, a huge hit, treasured by adults and children alike.
CLICK TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT BOOK BUG
An activity programme helped make the visits more engaging for children and young people whether that was making cards for mothers & fathers days, planting their own little tomato plants, colouring in competitions, arts and crafts and play with Toybox/Playstation staff and volunteers.
Working with Scottish Prison Service Family Contact Officers (FCOs) and Early Years – who run the children visits – wellbeing packs were given to distribute to families during the children’s visits and Croft staff were on hand to provide information in privacy to families without having to come back into the main waiting areas.
Croft staff participate in new Prison Officer inductions so that as soon as they start working in HMP Barlinnie they know to pass on information to prisoners to inform their families that support is there for them and also to refer onto us if they have contact with families during visits.
The Prisoners Education and Activity Hub within the Prison hosts family events and information sessions, Croft staff provided information, advice and wellbeing packs to promote our work and make sure prisoners too are passing on info about us to their families.
Feedback from families is as uplifting as it is heart-breaking and the appreciation of being able to access all the emotional and practical support almost as a one stop shop makes a huge difference.
Building on this work and our previous pilot project to support more people with lived experience to become more confident, resilient and make informed choices to follow pathways to positive destinations, plans to establish buddy/mentor groups, which will be self-directed and self-sustaining with support from the Croft are underway. By connecting people in their own communities this will also help reduce stigma, isolation and judgment.
The Croft has new staff and volunteers, complementing the existing provision and facilitating a wider provision of enhanced services to more visitors and families. New Board Members bring additional skills to the team to support the growth and development planning.
The families and visitor’s welfare sits at the core of everything we do and our service provision is designed around their needs, informed and directed by them, for them. By working closely with SPS and Barlinnie staff we advocate on behalf of families to inform policy, improve processes and visitors experience, never more so as the relocation to the new HMP Glasgow in 2026 moves ever closer. An exciting time for everyone with purpose-built facilities which will greatly enhance the experience for all.
“As Julie-Anne pointed out, families of individuals involved in the justice system can experience a variety of impacts upon their lives and family functioning. In some circumstances changes to financial support and income may result in families being at risk of losing housing, the new challenges around the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating this situation for a group of people who are already more a risk of suffering deprivation than the general population.
Children and young people may be impacted by necessary alterations to their care-giving arrangements, passing from one family member to another or to state supported provision. Families also experience isolation, exclusion and stigma through association with an individual involved in the justice system, all of which present challenges to engaging with services and maintaining normative family functioning.
Supporting families adversely impacted by another’s imprisonment is a priority for Community Justice (you can read about why in my article for the 2020-21 Annual Reporter ‘Why Families’).
The Croft staff and volunteers have done a phenomenal job in particularly difficult circumstances over 2021-22. By continuing to build on existing and drawing in new partnerships I have no doubt the Croft will continue to meet the varied and complex needs of families impacted.
I look forward to supporting the Croft to build on that work and our plans for building a connected community around families and make ready for the new prison – HMP Glasgow – expected to open in 2026.”
