Simply delighted to share that, in partnership with Jigsaw Visitors Centre, we have been successful in receiving National Lottery funding for our Family Support: In, Out and Beyond Project to provide practical support as well as an innovative – free to access – counselling service to men leaving prison and their families.
Our partnership will use the money to provide practical support as well as an innovative counselling service. The service will provide much needed emotional support: helping men to resolve issues that may have led to their offending behaviour and supporting family members to deal with the range of emotions that arise when a loved one is convicted to prison.
Based at Her Majesties Prison Leeds and working across the whole of West Yorkshire the WYCCP-Jigsaw partnership has, over the last three years, given significant support to 96 family members and 48 men as well as developing an innovative – free – seven day a week counselling service.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see the counselling service developing and growing. There will be weekly drop-in sessions and the service will be able to support more clients. The partnership will be able to develop and increase support to family members both whilst their loved ones are in prison and following release and to men after their release from HMP Leeds.
“We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to press on with our project which will minimise the impact of imprisonment on families and help break the cycle of re-offending, helping to make our communities safer and stronger.
This is important because imprisonment causes extra strain on families which often results in family breakdown. Positive relationships with family and friends are a crucial factor in enabling successful resettlement on release.”