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Community Chaplaincy This is an initiative which tries to mirror the work done by Prison Chaplaincies outside in the community. Chaplaincies involve joint-Faith working to help address personal and emotional issues of inmates, as well as providing specific study and worship. Very many Prison Chaplaincies involve large numbers of volunteers within their Teams to help deliver the sort of support services which have been a response to prisoner need. For example, the Prison Visitors' Association and Alcoholics' Anonymous often operate under the auspices of the Chaplaincy - and more recent developments include volunteer-led support groups for self-harmers, and those who are depressed or bereaved. COMMUNITY Chaplaincies are now developing similar support for men and women on release, to help them fulfill their commitment NOT to re-offend, and provide them with some emotional and practical support during that most vulnerable period following release. Although each of the projects is individual and self-financing, all will provide a similar range of services to support the resettlement of their client-group. Partnerships are in place with local crime-prevention agencies. In one location the Probation Service and the Community chaplaincy are looking at appointing a Chaplain to the Hostels in their area. A central Strategy Board has been established this year to act as an umbrella agency through which all of the projects will subscribe to agreed goals and standards, and complement each other's work as ex-prisoners move from place to place. Some of these Chaplaincies have teams of volunteer Mentors who meet with the 'client' before release from prison to establish a befriending relationship, and then continue to meet regularly on the outside to ensure attendance at interviews for jobs or houses. Some have drop-in centres where the ex-prisoner can feel welcome, and where staff and volunteers can afford them structured support to help them complete their Action Plan. There are 13 such organisations around the country at present, with another 12 or so emerging. In large urban areas it is appropriate that these Chaplaincies are Multi-Faith, and that the Faith communities of those cities are actively represented in the sponsorship of the Community Chaplaincy. Such an example is the West Yorkshire Project which has representatives of all Faiths on the Management Board, and which has developed an Ethical Finance Policy which precludes seeking funding from the Lottery, meat producers, or alcohol & tobacco manufacturers. In consequence, these organisations are funded from a range of sources - Government, Local Government, Health Boards, Charitable Trusts, private companies, and Faith-based bodies. The Home Secretary's recent speech to the Prison Reform Trust clearly tied together 'family and community' as key elements in addressing re-offending. There is substantial evidence to show that those prisoners who maintain good family relationships during custody have a significantly higher chance of resettlement on release. And a priority will be given to supporting this in whatever ways possible. One of the great strengths of this new initiative is the way they are establishing partnerships between Faith communities and statutory agencies and voluntary sector organisations like NACRO and Shelter. The Government has encouraged this development, and given support wherever possible and necessary. Some of these Chaplaincies have already got a Volunteer Co-ordinator in place - some are addressing the issue. But all are aware that their projects will not succeed without the involvement of volunteers. The range of possible opportunities for volunteers include Management Board, Mentoring, Befriending, Group Facilitator (Training provided), Tea-maker, and providing hospitality for visitors to the projects. Some volunteers bring specialised skills to such work, others have generic talents. A community Chaplaincy is a place where all such gifts will be valued and woven into a service for the care, support and direction of the ex-prisoners who choose to avail of their services. For example, the Preston Community Resettlement Project provides support for men discharged from several prisons in the Lancashire area. They are based in Catholic Caring Services in Preston, refer clients to specialist services, and have an extensive team of volunteers. By contrast, West Yorkshire has a Team of specialist workers who deliver some of the services directly, and also use the mentoring framework to back that up. Swansea's Community Chaplaincy is very much a prison-based service which reaches out into the community, and its Prison Chaplaincy leads the development. There is no 'one-fits-all' design for Community Chaplaincy, and the strategy Board is the agency which will ensure that good practice is shared, and that good information is disseminated to all interested parties. |
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