Mothers’ Union Diocese of Chichester
Contact Details:
Overseas News and Links | Parenting | Away From It All |
Supporting Children affected by Imprisonment
Nationally, Mothers' Union is working inside about 86 prisons up and down the UK, especially those for women, in addition to its involvement with Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Their concerns range from staffing visitor crèches and coffee bars and helping with Chaplaincy work to parenting courses and baby-walking schemes and running branches within the prison for inmates.
Here in Chichester Diocese, we are involved in both Lewes Prison and Ford Open Prison, as well as in the Gatwick Detention Centre at Tinsley House.
Our fifth Object is "to help those whose family life has met with adversity", and what greater adversity can befall a family than to have a member of that family, or even the whole family, detained in prison or detention centre.
In Lewes Prison, a Category B gaol, we are responsible for the Children's Play Area. Visiting time is the only occasion when the family, including children, can actually meet the prisoner face to face. By being there to play with the children we are giving the adults a chance to discuss important and difficult issues, while the children are occupied in a nearby area. Also the children can relate to their Dad more easily when playing with some of our provided toys. As many of these Dads are remand prisoners, awaiting trial, it may be their first experience of prison, as it will be for the families, and we find that the presence of a non-condemning friendly face can help to calm any understandable fears and apprehensions.
Ford Prison, by contrast, is an Open Prison, Category D, where many prisoners are nearing the end of their sentence and are being prepared for release. The visitors are anticipating the future with gratitude and joy that what has been a long wait is nearly over. In addition to providing staff for this play area, we have been running a series of parenting groups for prisoners twice a year since the year 2000. The men here are most keen to learn all they can about how best to be a father to their children again once they are released.
In Tinsley House, the Gatwick Detention Centre, we are getting increasingly involved, in partnership with Southwark Diocese. This work is run as a Deanery project by the local deanery of East Grinstead. Every Christmas parcels of toiletries, stationery and toys are assembled and delivered to every family detained at that time. We are lately discussing how we may be involved alongside the Chaplaincy there.
A final contribution to all these people is a Christmas card for every one of them, provided by our Mothers' Union members, and hand-signed "with love from Mothers' Union". For many people this may be their only Christmas card, maybe the only time anyone has shown them any love let alone their own mother.
We hope that, in a small way, Mothers' Union in Chichester Diocese is helping to support those whose family life has met with adversity, and in so doing are taking the love of Christ inside these three institutions.