What the service does
Ormiston Families’ Breaking Barriers service provides support for children and young people affected by the imprisonment of a close family member.
Tailored one-to-one support reduces anxiety around prison, and supports emotional wellbeing and school attendance.
By providing a safe space for them to talk, play and express themselves, we enable children and young people to explore their feelings and break down some of the barriers which may prevent them from maintaining positive ties with their imprisoned family members.
For professionals
Our Breaking Barriers team can provide talks and presentations to teachers, social workers, police officers and other professionals to help them understand the ‘hidden sentence’ which is often endured by children and young people with a parent or family member in prison.
An estimated 192,912 children every year have a parent in prison in England and Wales and 10,000 visits are made by children to our public prisons every week.
Read the Cambridge Institute of Criminology’s evaluation of our Breaking Barriers service:
Contact us
To make a referral, book a talk or for a general discussion about the service, please contact our team at bbreferrals@ormistonfamilies.org.uk.
Dylan’s Story
“About a year ago I woke up to the sound of banging on the front door. It was pitch black outside and the loud noise frightened me. The door was broken down and I heard lots of shouting downstairs. It was the Police. They had come to arrest my Dad but I didn’t know what he had done wrong…”
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