Research endorses decision to fund Offenders’ Families Helpline
The Offenders’ Families Helpline can continue its work of offering support to whoever needs it
Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:45:00 GMT
Hudds research demonstrates the success of the Offenders’ Families Helpline as the only means of family members contacting loved ones in prison
When the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) announced that budget pressures meant that the Offenders’ Families Helpline (OFH) might be axed, Kathryn Sharratt, a Research Assistant at the University of Huddersfield’s Applied Criminology Centre, was asked to conduct an evaluation. The Helpline received a glowing appraisal, and the decision has since been taken to continue funding the service.
Families of prisoners are often the forgotten victims of the criminal justice system. At every stage of the process – from arrest, to court and imprisonment, through to release – they face problems that include breakdown of family relationships, financial hardship, adverse effects on emotional wellbeing, plus stigma and isolation.
For the past ten years, the Offenders’ Families Helpline has been providing invaluable information and support to families and friends of offenders during their involvement in the Criminal Justice System.
As Kathryn found the Helpline receives calls relating to a variety of issues: “Families need help finding out what prison a relative has been sent to, how to arrange a visit, or call to express concerns for a prisoner’s safety when they are worried about bullying or self harm.”
The Helpline has a small number of paid staff, but is mostly run by volunteers. “A lot of the team have been affected by the Criminal Justice System themselves; this contributes to the high quality of service provision because they can empathise with what families are going through,” added Kathryn.
Kathryn’s research began in December and concluded with her report in February. Now that the decision to retain the Helpline has been taken, her findings will help to shape the future of service provision.
Kathryn Sharratt – who has degrees in psychology and forensic psychology – has worked for NOMS herself. Currently working towards a PhD investigating the relationship between personality and suicide amongst prisoners, she was also part of the University of Huddersfield team who lead the major, EU-funded COPING Project, which examined the plight of children of prisoners.
