Children with a parent in prison are twice as likely as other children to experience mental health problems; are less likely to do well at school; and are more likely to be arrested or imprisoned in later years. Parental imprisonment is acknowledged as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), with feelings of separation and loss similar to bereavement. Young people may also develop anxiety. While children have a right to stay in touch with their imprisoned parent, practical considerations, such as physical proximity to the prison as well as the experience of the prison visit itself, often limits opportunities. It is estimated that 45% of prisoners will lose contact with their family, resulting in thousands of children losing parental contact during this time. Research indicates a reduction in reoffending through the maintenance of family ties, providing longer term benefits for families and society. 

This two-year grant will extend the reach of this project to thousands more families by funding the part-time coordinator role, which is fully responsible for the Share a Story programme. The programme enables prison inmates to make regular gifts of carefully chosen beautiful new books to bridge the gap with their child. It is a valuable strand of any prison’s Family and Significant Others strategy and has multiple benefits, forging connections and offering a vehicle to continue conversations by discussing the stories or what book to choose next.

A number of creative book gifting mechanics form part of the programme, including self-serve Book Hut in the Family Visits Room, or Pop up Bookshops that prisoners can visit and freely choose from. In many cases, books will be sent with a covering letter from the prisoner/parent. Receiving a paired book helps children to know they are being regularly thought of, to help raise self-esteem, provides opportunities to discuss, understand and develop shared interests and promotes reading for pleasure.