Volunteers wanted to support the families of prisoners at HMP Northumberland

Nepacs – North East Prisoner Family Support says that there is a range of support roles available at the Acklington-based prison.

There include:

l Helping to run the visit tea bars – serving refreshments in the visitors’ centre to families and in the visits hall during family visits;

l Providing a warm welcome, support and information within the visitors’ centre to families coming to visit their relative in prison;

l Helping to run the play areas within the visitors’ centre and visits hall, providing games and activities for children during normal and special family visits;

l Helping the family-support service which helps the family throughout the time their partner/relative is in prison and the new Heading Home programme which works with the family and the person in prison to plan for their release.

Emma Price, Nepacs volunteer coordinator, said: “Our team of volunteers are dedicated to helping prisoners’ families and children across the North East, but we need more volunteers to ensure that we can offer the best support possible, particularly in Northumberland, which, due to its location, can be difficult for some people to access.”

Nepacs volunteers come from all walks of life, including people who are retired, students and professionals who volunteer in their spare time.

All of the volunteers are offered travel expenses and receive relevant training and support.

If you are interested, contact Adrienne Ruddock for an informal chat. Call 01670 383736 or email [email protected] Or contact Nepacs’ head office by calling 0191 3757278 or emailing [email protected]

Alternatively, visit www.nepacs.co.uk