In 1980 Charles Colson former special adviser to President Richard Nixon attended a meeting in Belfast together with Sylvia Mary Allison the wife of the then Minster of State for NI. A gathering made up of prison officials, chaplains, business men and a number of other interested parties.  They talked about an organisation called Prison Fellowship that had its origins in the USA, and how a similar work had been developing in England and Wales. 

Charles Colson told the story of how he had been charged with Watergate related offences during the mid-70’s and while awaiting his court date a senator friend gave him a copy of the book called Mere Christianity by Belfast born CS Lewis. As he read it, he was challenged as to how he had lived his life up until that point. He reread the book several times and came to a place where he recognised his life needed to change.  

Some weeks later he was before the courts of Alabama pleading guilty to the obstruction of justice on Watergate related charges and was sentenced to Maxwell Prison, Alabama where he served 7 months. 

During his imprisonment he felt that he felt compelled to support those in prison but was unsure of how this could be done. On his release he made a promise to some of those inmates he left behind that he would come back to visit, many inmates felt this was jail talk and he would never visit a prison again.

On release he sought how he might begin to visit the men he had left behind and came up with the idea of asking those in churches if they would help him in volunteering to visit men and women in prison. Having meetings with interested parties he made an inquiry to the head of the justice department in USA to share his plan. It was quickly knocked down with the response; I have enough problems in jail without you coming in. That decision was later reversed and admission was granted.

At the time of this meeting in Belfast the political unrest in NI was frightening, civilians were being murdered, bombings in towns and cities across the country and the significant unrest in the prisons, it seemed fool hardy to be thinking of establishing such a work here. However, a group of people started to pray about the possibility of establishing a ministry and in November 1981, Prison Fellowship NI appointed their first director James McIlroy, This was three months after the death of the 10th hunger striker in the Maze prison.  

Those early days saw the commencement of a fledgling organisation established. A group of men met in Magilligan prison and with the support of the late Dr Bill Holley who was the Medical Officer in the prison at that time, a group was formed and met weekly. Those who attended had to come from across the political spectrum and the only rule necessary for attendance was that you could only speak if you had the bible in your hand. 

Those early days saw an increase in requests for one to one visits from within the prisons and as relationships were built with Governors and staff, openings were given to visit in HMP Magilligan, HMP Belfast and Armagh women’s prison.   

Over 40 years later, we give thanks for the faithful support of all those who regularly support our work either individually or as part of local congregations.  The mission remains to “Offer Hope and a New Beginning” to all we support in prison, among their families and those released.

Today we have ten staff and a team of more than 100 volunteers, who support the various aspects of the work. We also have a centre at 39 University Street Belfast, where we are completing a major redevelopment and will have new facilities to host our regular drop in.

The work has continue to have a positive impact on those we seek to help within the prisons on average 80 people arrive in prison every week. As at the 12 Aug the population was 1,702 at 16.74% increase on the previous year. – Less than 1% are juvenile, 5% female and over 10% are foreign national. Providing staff and volunteers the opportunity to support men and women from within the island of Ireland and in more recent time’s men and women form across the world. As an organisation our reach is to all those within the prisons, their families and ultimately when a person is released back to community. We offer help and support to all irrespective of faith, ethnicity or gender.

1. Our three prison workers have access to office space in all the prisons allowing us to reach more of those who are imprisoned with one to one visits. Weekly activities are arranged in each of the establishments, a Lifesplan course is offered to those who wish to attend in Magilligan and HBW Female prison. Five aside football for young men in HBW College and other special activities held during the year such as International women’s day and Christmas services. We also participate with the prison service and other agencies such as NIACRO and Barnardo’s, in providing a session on – ‘Family Matters’ during the training of new prison officers as they prepare to join the service.

Sycamore Tree is our accredited Restorative justice programme runs for 6 weeks, challenging the learners to consider the impact of crime on their victims. During the 3rd week we invite someone who has been the victim of crime to share their story and this is always the pivotal point of the course. 

The honesty of the victim sharing how she lost her son and the pain and hurt that this brought to her family moves many of those present to consider their own crimes what they have done. The final session invites learners to share something that they would to say to their victim if this was possible.

One young man shared how there was no hope for him as he would not be able to share it with his victim, as the individual had died as a result of his crimes. 

Another man shared how he felt the course had nothing to offer him, in the first week and he wouldn’t be coming back, however he attended the remaining weeks and turned up to the final session shared of his grief and sorrow at the pain and hurt his crimes had caused and was looking for a way to give something back.

People often say things like, once a criminal always a criminal. 

Or prison is too good for them

Or lock them up and throw away the key.

Prison Fellowship believes that if a person is sent to prison for the crime(s) they have committed, we are very clear crime has consequences and our desire is not to step round that issue. Yet we also are committed to the ideal that every man and women deserves support and help to face the consequences of those crimes and prepare to return to society where they are able to make a positive contribution.

We give thanks that some of those we have visited and supported over the past 40 years left prison not just reformed from a justice perspective but some with their hearts transformed.  Sadly we are acutely aware that life on the outside is difficult for many of those we serve and while we long to see individuals stay out of prison the reality is that breaking the cycle of crime is very difficult, however we remain committed to support all who we come into contact with, whether for the first or the umpteenth time.

But prison is only one part of the ministry, 

2. What does Hope look like for a family?

We have 2 Family workers carrying out another vital part of our ministry among the families. We often say that families serve the Silent sentence. They may never have stood before a judge but they have many who pass sentence, they have no prison cell just their home, no prison guards just those who live nearby or on the same street or avenue. Shame, fear, stigma and isolation make up the largest part of their sentence. 

They often ask? 

• What will happen to my – loved one in prison?

• What will happen to me if I can’t afford the rent or meet the bills?  

• For others sadly they feel guilt by association, often not knowing anything of the crime that has been committed, only learning of the crime when a Police officer calls at the door or their loved one is arrested?

Children, taunted in school because of what a parent has done, loss of support from other family members, if you visit him/ her you will never see your grandchildren again, real issues for families who are trying to get on with their life on the outside.

Our Family Workers make regular visits to families across the province often visiting those struggling with day to day life because of the actions of a son, daughter, husband, wife or other family member. 

The fact that someone cares enough to come and visit is a really big deal. Many of our families rarely have someone visit, just for them. Yes they may have professional visits, but to sit down and have a coffee and a chat, someone to listen to them if they want to share their concerns. Makes a real and lasting difference.

On one occasion after taking a daughter of a prisoner out for a lunch to a local café - on return she says, “Thank you for making me feel normal.”

For others it’s supporting those who struggle not because their loved one is in prison, but rather worrying about what will happen on release, one lady says, he has been drinking for over 30 years and often reoffends and returns to prison.  This elderly mother says, “There is nothing I can do”. However, a visit encourages her and gives her hope that others care.

Another, practical way we help and support families is through our Christmas Hope project, providing a hamper of groceries and an age specific gift for each child this is delivered just before Christmas. Individuals and churches join in this huge task to bring Hope at Christmas to the lives off all we support. 523 hampers and 606 parcels of toys were donated and delivered by volunteers last year. 

I believe the following response received captures the appreciation of many we support, 

“Thank you so much! This honestly means the world to me. What you do for us and our children is amazing. I didn’t really have a way to get something under the tree for my son this year, and now, thanks to you, he has something with his name on it.”

We are very grateful for the practical support received from both the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Probation Board for NI last year as they identified us as their charity of choice. Partnership has and continues to be the key of what we do both in terms of working with both statutory and voluntary agencies over the past 40 years  

3. The third aspect of our work is Aftercare. 

Almost all of those within the prisons will be released two staff members support and come alongside those released to offer ongoing support.  Getting released from prison is one of the most challenging aspects for anyone who has been incarcerated. While release is the goal from their first day of imprisonment and often the very thing that sustains a person during their sentence the reality of returning to the outside world can be very stressful and often fraught with difficulty. Often referred too by those inside as gate fever!

The challenges are all too real if you have no family or home to return too, or other support mechanisms, where do you turn?

Imagine late on a Friday evening in the middle of the winter you are being released from prison following your court appearance earlier that day, your family live abroad and your closest relative has no means of giving you a bed?

The moment you have waited for, and even dreamt off has arrived and you have no one to meet you at the front gate, in fact you don’t even know where you will spend the night, up until the moment of your release you have no address, apart from the knowledge that you have an appointment early the next morning for medication and that is over 70 miles from where you currently are. These and many other questions bounce through your head. Where will I stay, how will I get to where I need to be in the morning, what if I get attacked or what if I end up going back to my old ways and ending up back inside.

Some of those being released walk out the gates with the equivalent of two weeks unemployment benefit and a few bags of possessions (that’s if you brought anything in with you) in this case a piece of paper with a telephone number to ring to check if there is any accommodation available. 

PF were invited to help. Transport was offered and we met the young women at the front gate. Three hours after release it was clear that no suitable accommodation was going to be made available. The choices at this stage were limited, leave her in the city and she would be back on the streets, possibly reoffend and be back in prison by morning or worse, get her something to eat and consider the alternatives. When it got to 9.15pm with no bed and no sign of a bed you can imagine the stress. It was agreed with her probation officer that we would source a bed and put her up so that she would be safe and close to her appointment the next morning.

Contacting her over the weekend she commented to one of our staff, “that she had felt like a princess”. Our job is not to make people feel like princesses but I believe that by doing the practical things it opens up doors to support people to make right choices. We make judgement calls based on the evidence presented to us and we support that person in a non-judgemental way with practical love and care.