Tag Archives: family in prison

The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is listening to 1,000 care experienced voices⤴

from @ Reach

“I’m Lynzy and I work as the Policy Ambassador for Who Cares? Scotland. I also grew up in care. Who Cares? Scotland is an independent advocacy and campaign organisation that works with care experienced young people, helping them to be listened to. We know that when young people are heard great things happen. The last time the Scottish Parliament listened to care experienced young people, a law called the Children and Young People Act 2014 was brought in and it included some of the biggest changes to care in a long time. However, we know that bigger changes are still needed. This is why Who Cares? Scotland came up with the 1000 Voices campaign.

1000 Voices asks that 1000 care experienced young people’s voices are listened to by the First Minister. We hope that by hearing from 1000 care experienced young people the First Minister will understand how things can be made better for them. In September 2016 the First Minister visited our national office in Glasgow and I got to meet her.  After she had spoken with us she decided to back the 1000 Voices campaign over the next two years. Not long after this, she also decided there should be a review of care in Scotland.

As someone with care experience I think it is vital for our voices to be heard. We are the ones that live in care so we know how it really works and what it feels like, better than anyone else. Sharing things about yourself can be scary at the time, but afterwards I have always felt empowered. I remember the first time I shared my story, I felt like a bag of nerves but then I felt really listened to. I felt that everything I said had meaning and that finally my story was being understood and not judged.

I believe that the First Minister listening to 1000 voices could improve the life chances of young people who come into care. I especially hope that ‘1000 voices’ can make it easier for care experienced young people to get the support they need to get the most out of their education. Young people in care already face lives full of upheaval and uncertainty. They must cope with being separated from their families, adjusting to a new way of life, getting to know new people, as well as going to meetings, reviews and children’s hearings. Even though care experienced young people have the right to extra support in school, this doesn’t always happen. I believe that if our views are listened to, more people will understand what support we need in education and how important it is that we get it. We could improve the chances of care experienced young people going on to college and university, something that a lot of us never think we can achieve. I believe that if we, care experienced young people, are listened to, there is so much more we can achieve in the world.”

 

If you are interested in hearing about how you can get involved with 1000 Voices, contact hello@whocaresscotland.org.

The post The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is listening to 1,000 care experienced voices appeared first on Reach.

“It’s like I am carrying a giant invisible secret”⤴

from @ Reach

How one young person feels about their parent being in prison.

270,000 children and young people are coping with one of their parents being in prison.  This film diary tells one boy’s story of how it feels. “I hate lies, and not telling me that dad was in prison was a big FAT one”.

The boy shares in his diary how he feels “scared”, “angry”, “let down”, and “worried about my dad – is he locked up all day? What is prison really like?”.

In the film diary, the boy talks about how difficult it is at school where no one knows what’s going on. But when the boy finally tells his teacher what’s going on, she is able to support him and reassure him. “She said I could talk to her or someone else at school if I wanted. Whoever I found easiest. I could let them know anytime I visit dad or if anyone is picking on me”.

If someone in your family is in prison, Families Outside are there for you. Check out their website for advice and to hear from other young people who understand what you’re going through.

The post “It’s like I am carrying a giant invisible secret” appeared first on Reach.

27,000 children and young people have a family member in prison – hear from some of them about what it’s like⤴

from @ Enquire - young people's blog

Did you know that every year 27,000 children and young people have to cope with someone in their family being in prison? That is even more than the number of you each year who see their parents get divorced.

 

Art by 8 year old girl with a family member in prison. Thanks to Children of Prisoners Europe.

Seeing someone you care about in prison is really hard, and you might have a whole mix of feelings about it. You might feel shocked, angry, upset or lonely, or you might feel relieved and glad. The truth is there isn’t just one right way of feeling. Here are some of the things that children and young people have said to Families Outside, a project which helps families with someone in prison: “I am so angry with my dad about what he did, but I miss him every day.” “It was such a shock that I don’t want to see my mum right now, but I am also really sad about what happened.” “No one’s telling me anything”. “I want to be like everyone else”. Speaking about what it’s like to visit family in prison, young people have said things like “it takes ages to get there”, “I don’t like the dogs”, “visits are boring” and “the officers look scarey in their uniforms”, although others have had a better time during visits, enjoying the toys and games they’ve been given and saying that the officers were friendly.

Whatever you’re feeling, it can be hard to speak about someone in the family being in prison, especially when people at school start talking about it or when the local news gets hold of the story. There are three things to remember: Firstly, it is not your fault. Secondly, people who go to prison are not bad people – they are good people who have done a bad thing. Thirdly, you are not alone. There are thousands of other children and young people who have gone through the same thing as you, and there are projects like Families Outside that can help.

And what about school? What can schools do to help? Schools can help to stop bullying by educating other pupils that it isn’t a young person’s fault if someone in their family is in prison. It’s also really important for young people to feel like school can be a safe place to share their feelings, like this pupil felt: “I’m really glad I told my teacher about dad being in prison. He asked about how I was doing and helped me when I was having a bad day.” Another young person had this good idea “I think it’d be good if teachers got a kind of lesson on how kids like me feel and what it’s like for us”. That’s just what Families Outside have been doing. They’ve even taken teachers to visit prisons so they can see for themselves how hard it can be for children and young people who do this.

So what next? Hopefully if we keep listening to children and young people and bringing this difficult issue out into the open, we can change attitudes and makes things easier for families. One girl called Amie put it well when she spoke at an event recently: “We need to stop seeing ourselves as broken and awaken ourselves to the fact that, because of our story, we have something to offer in creating a better society.”

Check out this film to hear from more children and young people about how it feels having family in prison

For more info and support, check out www.familiesoutside.org.uk or call them on 0500 83 93 83.