Staff and volunteers from Nepacs provide a number of services to support friends and families of prisoners in the seven prisons within the north east. These include prison visitors’ centres and tea bars, play sessions for prisoners’ children, special family visits, youth projects, family support services, and support within Middlesbrough and Durham courts. Nepacs also provides family and parenting support to offenders and their families in the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear area.
Nepacs’ new website (www.nepacs.co.uk) includes a range of information to help families and friends of prisoners or offenders and professionals working in the north east, including:
- Prison visiting information – how to book, ID requirements, location of the prison
- Availability of special family visits – including parent/child, family learning and new dad visits
- Support available from Nepacs at court, at prison, on release and in the community
- Training opportunities for professionals working with families and children
- How to get involved with Nepacs – as a volunteer, through donations etc
The new website is also accessible to non-English speaking visitors thanks to the translate feature.
Helen Attewell, chief executive of Nepacs, said: “When people go to prison, they sometimes feel like they are on a dead end path with no way to get back to a productive life. We know that families can be the key to helping prisoners get back on a path to a positive future – by providing love, support, somewhere to live and a positive identity within the family (dad, mum, son).
“This is why we work with prisoners and their families or friends to help maintain family ties throughout a sentence, helping families (especially children) survive the difficult and sometimes distressing journey, and giving the prisoner the chance to take a new road to a better future.
“Our new website supports the work of our staff and volunteers by providing an additional route to information, which is easier to navigate for families and professionals, and gives up to date advice, information and support.”
For more information about Nepacs and the services available to anyone impacted by imprisonment in the north east visit www.nepacs.co.uk