For over forty years now, Prison Week has connected with churches and individuals to pray and focus on the needs of all those affected by prisons – prisoners and their families, victims of crime and their communities, those working in the criminal justice system and the many people who are involved in caring for those inside and outside of our prisons. The theme of Prisons Week (9 – 15 October 2022) is ‘What are you thankful for?’ It is based around Luke 17: 11 – 17 where Jesus heals ten lepers only one of which, a Samaritan, returns to thank him.
Nepacs is a long standing charity in the north east working in seven prisons from Northumberland to Teesside. Our mission is to support positive futures for prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families and friends to reduce the impact and stigma of imprisonment on their lives and contribute to the positive rehabilitation of offenders.
Last year Nepacs supported thousands of families to visit or maintain contact with a loved one in prison, including many children who hadn’t seen their parent for some time (due to visits being cancelled during Covid). It is these visits that enable prisoners, families and children to maintain contact and relationships with their loved ones. This contact is crucial in reducing prisoner re-offending and the intergenerational impact of crime on the thousands of children affected by parental imprisonment in our region each year.