Parental imprisonment is a traumatic experience for any child, impacting their emotional development, education, and future prospects. However, the exact number of children affected is unknown, as this information is not recorded by any agency. Despite the significant challenges these children face, no government body is directly responsible for safeguarding their welfare or protecting their rights.
Our work with prisoners and their families is focused on providing support throughout the sentencing process and beyond. By helping families during incarceration and as they prepare for reintegration, we aim to reduce the negative effects on children and strengthen family relationships for a more positive future.
Our work combines education, training, and support to address the complex needs of prisoners and their families. Developed with input from individuals with lived experience, we have created resources like Mia’s Story and Freya’s Story, two books designed to help children affected by parental incarceration. These have been distributed to schools, prisons, probation services, police, and social care teams to provide meaningful support to families navigating this experience.
To foster trauma awareness within the prison system, we’ve developed a prison-specific trauma-informed training package which ahs been offered to all prisons in the locality. Additionally, we’ve delivered the trauma-informed programme Strength Inside to multiple cohorts, focusing on building resilience and self-awareness.
Educational activities such as the Time 4 Change course, address issues like knife crime and serious violence, whilst investment in prison facilities such as sensory rooms and energy walls help create environments that support rehabilitation.
We’ve also worked closely with innovative initiatives like the 180 Project at HMP Lancaster Farms, which introduces prisoners to CrossFit to build physical and mental strength, unity and hope. This programme includes support for transitioning to life outside prison, helping participants sustain their progress, build resilience, and reduce the risk of reoffending.
We have reach across all five Lancashire prisons;
We also work with our nearby women’s prison, HMP Styal, and Wetherby Young Offender Institution.
Independent evaluations show that our interventions have real impact. For instance, the sensory room at HMP Wymott has been found to reduce violence by providing a space for de-stress and de-escalation, especially benefiting neurodivergent prisoners and those with mental health challenges.
Prisoners have shared how the programme has given them hope, with one saying, “It gave me some home that this doesn’t have to be it.” Staff training has also been highly effective, with 92% finding sessions useful and nearly all reporting they would change their practices. Staff gained a deeper understanding of trauma and how it contributes to serious violence, helping them intervene more effectively.
Commissioner backs powerful film warning young people not to get ‘Caught Up’ Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has supported the production and launch
Around 4,000 students in Hyndburn have been visited by the No More County Lines Tour, highlighting the dangers of county lines, spotting the signs of
The Lancashire Violence Reduction Network (VRN), overseen by Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, has delivered a specialist drug and alcohol awareness event aimed
