2016/17 Annual Review

Introduction

Court and HMP Lewes Support

Family Voice

Hidden Voices

First Stop

Support Groups

Volunteers

Partnership

Social Media

Conclusion

How we raise money& what we do with it

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3

5

6

8

11

13

16

19

20

22

Welcome to our annual review of 2016-2017. It’s been a packed 12 months with plenty to reflect on, and as we look back on this busy and exciting year, two crucial themes stand out: empowerment and partnership.

Firstly, one of our principal values is to empower prisoners’ families to speak about the issues that affect them and this has been an important part of our work this year. We have worked on a number of exciting family voice projects and we have helped families talk to local and national decision makers. Input from families is integral to our day to day work and their insightful and thought-ful commentary shapes our vision for the future.

Secondly, our commitment to partnership work has meant we have worked hard to build relationshipswith statutory, voluntary and social enterprisesectors. Among many fruitful collaborations, we have forged relationships with HMP Lewesto improve family services and West SussexCounty Council Safer Communities partnershipto do research into the needs of prisoners’families’ in West Sussex.

Several organisations have donated expertise which is helping our organisation grow. The University of Sussex, the University of Brighton and the Social Research Hub undertook evaluations of our services, and extracts from their reports will be presented throughout this review.

This joint working approach has helped us expand our capacity and build our resilience so that we are ready to face our fifth year in a stronger position than ever.

1

FAMILY VOICES...

“It was great to meet the members of the group who I had not met before, all in

different stages of their own journey. It’s a strange bond we all have and we have an empathy and understanding of how each

other feels. The group is certainlyneeded. Thank you again”.

Our Work at a Glance 2

HMP Lewes Visitors Experience volunteers providing

Volunteers interacted and provideda friendly face to over

hours

6528

200

leaflets were taken by families and court

teams from courts leaflet stands

478

professionals and court agencies provided SPF information tofamily members about SPF,

signposting to First StopAdvice Line

267

families received 1-2-1 support from the First

Stop Advice Line

37

Families were directly engaged by the SPF

Court team

358volunteers providing

hours

Total volunteer hours:

391,459

volunteers providing

hours

Total Courtvolunteer hours:

25732

individual family membersregularly attended

family members attendedthe advice drop ins

Brighton Support Group:

Hastings/St. Leonards groups:

10

44average monthly hits with

average monthlyvisits

Website:

20,0413,365

298Twitter

followers:

136Facebook

Likes:

research and officevolunteers provided

hours support

3199

people each month

We continue to offer much needed support to families though our flagship Court Support project. This year has also seen us launch a new service aimed at improving the experience of families visiting HMP Lewes.

CourtOur volunteers meet with families at courts across Sussex. Working alongside probation, court staff and legal teams,we explain the court processes to families and help them understand the sentence.

Offering much needed emotional support at this traumatic time, we explain prison visiting arrangements, signpostpeople to our First Stop Advice Line and highlight specialist debt and welfare services that are available in their localcommunities.

Regular positive feedback from families shows how much they value our service:

“It has helped me enormously to come to terms with what is happening and to have someone help when I could not get information”.

“I had to wait all day before my son was seen, he’s never been in trouble before and I was so worried about him being in the cells... no one told me what was happening before your vol-unteer spoke to me and explained what was going on. She sat with me and put my mind at rest”.

“The solicitor said my husband would get bail but he didn’t and he didn’t have his meds (medication) which he needs.The Solicitor had to go but thanks to your volunteer we were able to let the cells people know (about his medication)”.

Court Support and HMP LewesVisitors’ Experience

3

But it’s not just families. A report into our court service found that professionals also value our volunteers, and felt that having them there ‘eased their frustration of nothaving the resources to support the families themselves’.

“…and you get…grandparents, who are suddenly going to be left raising four children… and there’s a moment where you go, ‘oh I really wish there was something we [Probation] could do for you, but, you’ll be gone for us tomorrow’, we’re only dealing with today, and so, I think it’s really reassuring in those cases, to know that we can say, there is somebody who you can talk to, and get some help from”. [Probation Officer]

“…we do a lot of things so we don’t have time to speak to individuals, but they might just check in at reception and sit down, or some just sit down and they haven’t even checked in, and they would often have questions, and they would talk to the (SPF) volunteers”. [Court usher]

“…we’ve had sort of 8% cuts and another 8% cut, these means that you can, you just can’t give prisoners families the time that is needed…”. [Solicitor]

HMP Lewes Visits ExperienceThis year saw the beginning of a strong partnership with HMP Lewes to improve the visiting experience for families. At the request of families, we have provided books, magazines and information for the waiting area. We have also helped the prison todevelop a leaflet for families visiting the prison for the first time and managed to getan information screen in the waiting area.

We also have a regular team of volunteers helping at the tea bar in the visits hall,providing drinks, snacks and a friendly face. And the initiative has also helpedimprove relationships between visitors and staff.

“…in visits it was very much them [prisoners], and us [staff], I think the volunteers have helped break down that barrier, visitors are more likely to come and speak tous now in visits”. [Prison Visits Manager]

“…they’re [volunteers] nothing to do with the prison, so they’re not gonna takeany sides of anyone, and they’re [families] more likely to open up to them…”.[Prison Visits Manager]

We have more exciting plans to develop this service over the coming year.

4Court Support and HMP LewesVisitors’ Experience

Family voice is vital to the work of Sussex Prisoners’ Families. This year has seen some innovative andexciting developments in this area and our familieshave made themselves heard through:

MultimediaOur Hidden Voices Project involved working with Zap Arts, The University of Brighton and DigiTales to help families tell their personal stories through a digitalstory telling forum. We were delighted to have thestories screened as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival.

BooksWe have also worked collaboratively with families to produce a book chapter for the Prisoners’ Families Handbook to be published next year by globalacademic publishers Palgrave. Watch this space....

PolicyTwo families from the support group travelled to London and were among a small group to be interviewed faceto face by Lord Farmer for the Farmer Review into strengthening family ties in prison.

Local ForumOn a local level, families have been invited to attend a prisoners’ families steering group at HMP Lewes where they have made useful suggestions. Their ideas have been listened to carefully by the prison and have led to improvements to the visiting experience, including a new advice leaflet for families, a video screen with useful information and new books and reading materials.

West Sussex Research:In partnership with North RTD and West Sussex Safer Communities we started a needs assessment listening to the voices of prisoners’ families in West Sussex. Anextensive awareness raising campaign with professionals and communities with opportunities for families to take part in focus groups, individual interviews and on line surveys.

‘’Thank you so much, my brother is a very private

person and it is a relief to know that he is getting help

and that he is beinginformed and is ok’’.

“Dad has rung Mum a few times now and has received

all the post now! We’ve never been in this situation

before…just wanted to thank you so much for your

input in this”.

Family Voice 5

This year we launched an exciting new collaborationwith Zap Art, Digitales and the University of Brighton, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and BBC Children in Need.

Hidden Voices was an innovative series of arts workshops designed to give young people a voice. It was attended by 182 families in youth clubs and community centresin Crawley, Brighton, Newhaven, and St.Leonards. The project raised awareness of the ‘hidden sentence’faced by prisoners’ families – and how incarcerationof a loved-one can affect wellbeing, relationships and life chances.

Five stories were created during the workshops. Four stories were by individual storytellers and one was made by a family of three, a mother and her young son and daughter. The stories were showcased in May as partof the Brighton Fringe Festival. The University evaluatedthe impact of the project and collected feedback fromthe storytellers.

Young Person A: “I wanted to make this film to help me sort through and process a lot of confusing thoughts, conflicting feelings and emotions. Telling my story in this way has really helped make sense of the things that happened with my boyfriend. I feel much clearer about a positive future and thankful of the support from my family”.

Hidden Voices 6

Young person B - “Life felt very unsettled whilst I was growing up as a child and young person with my father in prison. It was my grandfather who was my rock and whoprovided me with stability and support. I wanted to make this film as a tribute to my grandad who was always there for me”.

Young Person C - “ I made this film to show people that there is always help if you look for it. Also, you can go through a lot and some people know and understand what that’s like. Always be strong, never give up. I want to show kids that lots of things are wrong but you’ve got to find a way to cope when times are hard”.

Young Person D -”My partner was in prison for one year and I went to visit many times. I made this film to explore my thoughts and feelings about that time. It felt easier and more comfortable to tell such a personal story through film. It has been great to share it with very supportive people, some of who have had similar experiences”.

Family - ”We wanted to make a digital story as a family. The project has enabled us to spend some focused, quality time together as a family and has given us an opportunity to work together through some very complex feelings and difficult issues in a positive way”.

We now use the films in presentations and workshops to highlight the experience of families and young people. We hope to build on this pilot programme and use the artsas a platform for ‘Hidden voices’ of the families we meet.

Watch the stories!www.vimeo.com/user63476739/videos

7Hidden Voices

FAMILY VOICES...

“Many thanks for all the work you do behind the

scenes to help us.”

First Stop is our telephone advice service to families who are struggling with a loved-one sent to prison. Those who called us in 2016-2017 were predominantly wivesor female parents and mothers.

An evaluation of our first three years of service by the Social Research Hub* found that:• Most people who contacted First Stop called one or two times (64%). • Calls usually lasted between 20 minutes and one hour.

How families found out about First Stop Helpline• The majority of families (54%) contacted First Stop after receiving SPF information at a Sussex court. • Most contacts were made at Lewes Crown Court (35%).

Reasons families called First Stop• 50% of all calls to First Stop asked about how to visit prison and make visiting arrangements.

• 40% of calls were about how to contact a prison, requesting prison telephone numbers, arrange a Visiting Order, and confirming the prisoners’ arrival at prison. Many callers expressed anxiety at being unable to get through to the prison reception

• In 35% of calls to First Stop, the family member expressed a sense of isolation, loneliness and stigma following their partner/child receiving a custodial sentence and said they valued being able to talk about this experience with someone.

• 35% of callers were parents expressing concern over how the children were reacting to a parent receiving a custodial sentence and asked about how to tell the children, or how to include them in visiting arrangements.

• 31% of calls were about the financial problems resulting from having a family member in prison.

• 34% wanted confirmation about a prisoner’s health on reception and whether they were receiving their medication.

• 30% concerned about a prisoner’s safety as a result of their heath needs not being met and also the risk of harm accumulating in prison from drug use and drug debts.

First Stop 8

*Sussex Prisoners’ Families Impact Assessment: Data Analysis and Recommendations, Social Research Hub

Top 6 talking points:

First Stop 9

Making contact and communicating

with a prison

2

How to supportthe children’s

understanding

3

Feeling isolated and having someone

to talk to

4The health of

a prisoner

5

Financial worries and debt

6

Visitingarrangements

for a prison

1

Repeat Calls: Areas of ResilienceWhere did our callers come from?The majority of calls to First Stop were from East Sussex residents (33%), followed by West Sussex residents (19%) and Brighton and Hove residents (14%). Two thirds (66%) of all calls to First Stop were known to be from Sussex residents.

How have we made a difference?Here’s what families thought of our service:

• Most families agreed or strongly agreed that the support received made them feel less anxious and less isolated.

• Most families received information that was clear and easy to understand and addressed their concerns.

• All of the families said they would recommend the First Stop Help Line to others.

First Stop 10

“I would like to feedback that the support I received from yourorganisation helped myself and my son immensely. Firstly I felt

completely supported and treated in a non-judgmental way with a lot ofempathy, and secondly the support organised for my son with an application

for funding to an organisation to give him space to talk about hisfeelings of his father has been transforming for him. He was suffering

so much emotional pain at that time and his behaviour wasquite challenging, but since his support he is settled

happy and confident, we are very happy in life.Thank you”.

FAMILY VOICES...

We have support groups currently running in Brighton, Hastings and St Leonards.Meeting monthly, we provide tea, coffee and cakes, a listening ear and an opportunity for people to support each other and share experiences.

Although these are led by SPF staff members, families are the real experts providing each other with vital pieces of information informed by their own experiences. It has been heartening to see families grow stronger each month and to see them support each other through their most difficult times,

We also held a number of social outings, including trips to pantomime and afternoon tea and evening meals together supported by Hove and Eastbourne Lions Clubs and Royal Clarence Lodge, and days out on Brighton Pier with complimentary wristbands from the Pier team and a day of pizza tasting, pizza designing, pizza-box making at Mod Pizza, restaurant in Brighton Marina, thank you!

Feedback from families “From the first day they have been there for me. I don’t think I could have coped with all the difficult situations we came across”.

“A huge thank you to [SPF staff member’s name] and everyone for all the support and kindness! Don’t know how I would have survived without the group”.

‘’I can come here (the support group) and just be myself without having to put a brave face on”.

“Thank you very much for putting up with my chatter so patiently! I do appreciate being able to say what I need to say without anyone getting upset or getting worried aboutwhat is on my mind”.

Support Groups 11

individual family members attended the support groups

and drop ins

54

Support Groups 12

“All of the respondents agreed that they would recommend the support group service to others”.

“The main benefit of attending the support group is thesupport received from other members”.

“It was particularly valuable to gain support from otherswho had been through and experienced the emotionalturmoil at different stages in the process”.

“The support group provides a non-judgmental environment and participants share a number of implicit understandings that other friends may be less sensitive to”.

A report by the Social Research Hub* found that:

Evaluation

The report recommended that:• SPF should consider expanding their Support Group services to offer a wider range of times or a more varied schedule in order to cater for those who are unable to attend the regular monthly meetings.

• SPF should make their services more visible. Our new Outreach team will be working with familiesto set up new support groups across Sussex andprovide new opportunities for families to meet, shareand build peer support networks.

*Social Research Hub (2017) Brighton Support Group, Report of Focus Group Discussions

We are very grateful to the ongoing commitment from our volunteers. Our flagship court and prison services could not operate without their enthusiasm and dedication. All volunteers undergo a rigorous training programme before they begin their role and have many opportunities todevelop their skills during their time with us throughongoing training.

A University of Brighton evaluation* explored the impact and experience of volunteers in court and prison.

Highlights showed that:

• Volunteers report increased self-belief and resilience, skill development, experience and CV enhancement.

• The volunteer service operating within the prison improved relations between prison staff and families of inmates during visiting hours.

• Court-based stakeholders emphasised the unmet needs of families, and therefore, highly value the volunteer service operated by SPF in the courts,

• Volunteers bring diverse skills and knowledge, specifically those from academic backgrounds and those with direct experience of the criminal justice system.

Volunteers 13

Following one of the report’s recommendations we have increased communication with court and prison teams about recruitment and training of volunteers and SPF services.

In a separate report** we asked how volunteering with Sussex Prisoners’ Familieshad helped the volunteers’ skills, knowledge and confidence:

Volunteers 14

of the volunteers said that volunteering with SPF enhanced their understanding of working with and providing support to families a lot.

of the volunteers said they would recommend volunteering with Sussex Prisoners’ Families.

said their knowledge of the criminal justice system had improved a lot, and...

said that volunteering had increased their confidence a lot, and...

said they had developed new skills a lot, and...

said a little.

said a little.

said a little.

100%

100%

90%

90%

90%

10%

10%

10%

SPF Court Training: Volunteers completed a monitoring form at the end of the training and this revealed that:• Content of the training 95% Excellent, 5% Very good. • Knowledge of the trainer. 95% Excellent, 5% Very good.• 100% said yes, they felt prepared for their role,

What our volunteers say:“I feel very privileged in being given this great opportunityto work with the family and this great SPF family”.

“I felt that since we had so many different forms ofsupport systems one could always feel confident inconfiding in someone if ever in the need to do so”.

What our stakeholders say:“You have a mixture of people, mental health issues, drink problems, and the families & defendants are not always in a fit state, so they adapt to different types of people, and they cope and talk to them well”.[Court Usher]

“During visits it was very much them (prisoners), and us [staff]. The volunteers have helped break down thatbarrier, visitors are more likely to come and speak tous now in visits”. [Prison staff]

Volunteers 15

*Smallwood, Victoria Stakeholder-led Impact Evaluation of the Court and Prison VolunteerServices Evaluation University of Brighton (MA Dissertation)

**Sussex Prisoners’ Families Volunteer Impact Report 2017

Both reports are available on our website: www.sussexprisonersfamilies.org.uk

This year we have built fruitful relationships with a range of organisations which has helped us add value to our work. Identifying shared values with partner organisations hasallowed us to move quickly from discussion to action and has enhanced our core work in the Sussex courts as wellas helping us develop creative and exciting new activities.

HMRC Courts and Tribunals ServiceStaff and legal teams in the Sussex courts are consistently helpful and encouraging to our volunteers which allows us to engage and support families at this earliest point in the custody of a family member

HMP LewesWorking with staff at HMP Lewes, we have consultedfamilies about visiting and are planning a new familyfriendly experience. The prison use DoodleCards during family visiting and the children and prisoners enjoy this fun, interactive activity, which allows the prisoners to take the card back to decorate their cells.

UniversitiesWe have built strong working relationships with different departments in the University of Sussex and University of Brighton and have benefited through our first Internship,the setting up of a social media project with one of ourfamily members and production of a set of evaluationsand impact reports of our services.

Partnership Working 16

CVS membershipWe are involved in the innovative Social Prescribing Project and Family Credits Project with Crawley CVS that set up referral pathways through GP surgeries and the local Think Family team. We are also members of Voluntary Action Arun & Chichester (VAAC), Voluntary Action Worthing, Community Works Brighton, Better Young Lives (Mid-Sussex), Mid Sussex and Horsham Voluntary Action (HAMSVA), 3VA, Hastings Voluntary Action and Rother Voluntary Action and benefit from the wonderful networking and learning opportunities provided by these groups.

We are grateful to our friends at the CVS infrastructure groups who have been so supportive and helped raise awareness of our work across the region.

West Sussex ResearchWe are working with the West Sussex Safer Communities Partnership and North RTD on a scoping study of the needs of prisoners’ families, through a county wide programme of workshops with families and local services. The results will be available in the new year.

Punk for Prisoners’ Families and Quiz NightsAt the annual fundraising gig with ASBO Derek, POG and Fractured, who offer their services free, and thanks to the Caxton Arms for hosting the annual Quiz night attended by over 40 people in an evening of unrelenting fun, we raised over £500 to support our volunteers meeting families in the courts and in the prison.

Peer SupportWe are grateful to UnLtd for coaching and guidance around our growth, help from The Fore Trust to access HR support from the Cranfield Trust and for learning opportunities with Brighton Chamber of Commerce. We have been fortunate to have advice from Inspire2Enterprise, mentoring support from Community Works and leaders from Brighton based New Note and Open Strings have also contributed to our thinking about strategy and development.

Partnership Working 17

“For offenders and their families who have little or no experience of the custodial environment, the work undertaken by SPF is highly valuable and by working with the National Probation Service”. Ash Arcadian, Probation Service Officer, NPS SEE Sussex Court & Assessment Team, Brighton Magistrates’ Court: “We have been impressed with SPF’s understanding and commitment to research evi-dence and how they actively identify and pursue opportunities to develop this understand-ing, and go on to use it to inform and reflect upon their service design”. Dr Carlie Goldsmith, NorthRTD

“Sussex Prisoners’ Families provides an excellent volunteering opportunity...for students. We look forward to working with them again...”.Beth Thomas-Hancock, Volunteering Manager and Mentoring Manager,Active Student Volunteering Service, Careers Service, Student Services, University of Brighton

Partnership Working 18

We continue to engage families and professionals throughsocial media. Our website continues to give families vitalinformation and we receive.

Social Media 19

Increasing from 2,174 in September 2016to 4,468 in July 2017

average monthly visitsto the website

3,365average monthly

hits

20,043hits over the year240,519

Twitter followers298

Facebook Likes136

With an increasing demand for our services we have reached a turning point in our development. We are now looking to transform and grow, reaching out to more families through partnerships and collaborations, expanding and diversifying our incomeportfolio and building our governance.

Plans for 2017-18 include developing a new family outreach team, expanding ourmanagement board and involving families even more in what we do. We would like to increase our income through trade and training and we will continue to monitor whatwe do so we can confidently report on the impact we are having. We’re going to busy and we welcome the continued support of our friends and stakeholders.

Conclusion 20

FAMILY VOICES...

“I would like to thank you for all the support and assistance you have given

to my mother. Mum said you offered some theatre tickets for the children. That would be lovely as I am needing assistance from mum to buy all the

basics such as food and bills etc.so it would be a nice treat”.

We would like to thank the following for their valuablesupport and encouragement of the project:

Our funders:

Eleemosynary CharityForeshore TrustMagdalen and Lasher CharityRoyal Clarence Masonic Lodge

Conclusion 21

Also, a big thank you to the following: Veronica Stephens, Carlie Goldsmith, Nemo Shaw, Ivan Mainprize, Molly Mathieson, Isabel Emerson, Victoria Stallwood, Catherine Jefferson, Rachel Lee Design, Derek Hayes, the team at HMP Lewes, Brighton Peace and Environment Centre, University of Brighton Active Student Team, St. Richard’s Community Centre, Fractured, POG, Brighton Pier, and our brilliant volunteers for their compassion, drive and commitment.

73%

17%

7%

3%

Staff salaries

Core cost (Rent, IT,Insurance, phones,marketing etc...)

Volunteerexpenses

Family events

82%

11%

4%

3%

Grants & Trusts

Contracts

Donations

Fundraisingactivities

We have a mixed income portfolio and have benefited from grant support and increased trading from providing training and selling DoodleCards and a staggered fundraisingapproach which has enabled us to double our income from the previous year as we carefully manage our capacity and growth. We have also raised income from donations and fundraisingactivities. For a detailed summary of our accounts please refer to Companies House.

How we raise money & what we do with it 22

How wegenerate Income:

What we useour funding for:

48%

22%

14%

12%

4%

Court service

HMP Lewesvisitors service

Other servicesand running costs

First Stop service

Support groups

What we dowith our funds:

www.sussexprisonersfamilies.org.ukinfo@sussexprisonersfamilies.org.uk

01273 499 843

Sussex Prisoners’ Families is a Community Interest Company Limitedby Guarantee. Company number 8631063.Registered Office: 39-41 Surrey Street, Brighton BN1 3PB.

@sussexprisonersfamilies

sussexprisonersfamilies