Prisons Work
Mothers' Union has a presence in prisons across Britain & Ireland bringing hope to the people who most need it
Statistics tell us that 45% of people lose contact with their families when they go to prison
Maintaining family ties is strongly linked to better outcomes, including reduced reoffending, improved resettlement, and greater emotional stability for both prisoners and their families. Lord Famer’s 2017 review shows that prisoners who receive family visits or maintain regular contact are 39% less likely to reoffend.
Our members support this by delivering transformative work in prisons to help prisoners stay connected or reconnect with their families and foster rehabilitation.
Thanks to our generous members and supporters, we have spent decades taking part in many activities, including:
Visitor centre support: Meeting and greeting families at the prison entrance, guiding them through the check-in process, providing practical information to make visits less daunting and helping with refreshments.
Education and skills: Leading vital parenting, cooking, and awareness workshops on important topics like domestic abuse. Donating books and puzzles to support language development.
Crafting and design: Leading inclusive creative workshops, including stitching, design, and banner-making.
Play and children’s Services: Leading creches and play areas so children have a safe, engaging, and age-appropriate environment while visiting a relative.
Providing resources: Reading glasses, birthing bags for mothers, release bags, clothing, Christmas and Easter cards.
Partnership working: By collaborating with other charities, we support family initiatives for example the Angel Tree project, which connects prisoners with their children by sending them Christmas gifts.
Family Days: Assisting staff during special family days where children and parents can bond through shared activities in a more relaxed setting.
With faith at the heart of our mission, we support prison chaplaincy teams by assisting with services and gatherings as well as courses focused on themes like forgiveness. Members set up chapel spaces, welcome attendees, enhance services with music and pray with fervor for the whole prison community.
Prisons Week
As a long-standing sponsor of Prisons Week for the past 40 years, we share campaign materials within our churches and communities to raise awareness of this vital initiative that seeks to end the human suffering caused by crime and imprisonment.
Our impact is so deeply rooted that we even run an active Mothers’ Union branch inside HMP Low Newton in the Diocese of Durham.
Prisons Week raises awareness and generates prayer for everyone affected by prisons – prisoners and their families, victims of crime and their communities, people working in the criminal justice system and the many people who are involved in caring for those affected by crime on the inside and outside of our prisons.
‘Prisons Week reminds me of God’s heart to bring healing, peace and freedom to people caught up in the criminal justice system, who are out of sight and out of mind. Having worked as a police officer in the Met Police for 27 years, and then as a chaplain at Wandsworth Prison for 12 years, I have seen something of the worst and the best aspects of human behaviour. It was in prison that I witnessed the power of prayer, of fellowship in adversity and the new life that Jesus offers.’ – Canon Tim Bryan, chair of the Prisons Week Working Groups.
Other programmes
