A north east charity, supporting around 125,000 visitors to north east prisons each year, is seeking new volunteers to help support families and children of prisoners at HMP Northumberland near Morpeth.
Nepacs has worked across the north east region for over 135 years to help support a positive future for prisoners, their friends and families, and have a fantastic team of volunteers working across the region.
The charity is currently seeking new volunteers to join their team providing visits services at HMP Northumberland located at Acklington near Morpeth. HMP Northumberland is a category C prison that caters for male offenders.
Volunteers who join the Northumberland prison visits team can get involved in a number of ways: helping to book people in for a visit, serving refreshments and supporting children in the play areas, both outside and inside the prison.
Visits to all prisons have been cancelled since lockdown in March. The charity are looking for people who have a few hours to volunteer on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday each week to help families when prison visits get up and running again.
Holly Claydon, Nepacs’ volunteer coordinator, said: “The impact of imprisonment on children and families can be devastating and the past few months have been particularly difficult, with visits cancelled and families not able to see their loved ones in prison. When visits get up and running again, our teams will be on hand to support children and families once again – from the courts, during the time their loved one is in prison and prior to release. Our team of volunteers are dedicated to helping prisoners’ families and children across the north east, but we are looking for more volunteers to join our team and help us to offer the best support possible during what is an extremely difficult time for families.
“Volunteering in a prison environment can be rewarding for all and is often a valuable experience for younger volunteers who may be considering a career in the justice system. If you think you could support children and families visiting a loved one in prison by volunteering and would like to be part of a team who helps to make a difference to the lives of prisoners’ families please get in touch or find out more through our website.”
Further details of all volunteer opportunities with Nepacs are on their website www.nepacs.co.uk or you can email volunteering@nepacs.co.uk