Ipswich charity's project for children with family in prison

Dylan's Story was launched in HMP Norwich, one of many prisons the Ormiston Families charity serves in the region

A new project has been launched to help children who have a loved one in prison.

Ipswich-based charity Ormiston Families supports children and young people across the East of England.

Dylan's Story is a new animation and book helping children cope with what it called "the hidden sentence".

The charity said visitation reduced rates of reoffending and the possibility of prisoners' children committing crime.

Dylan's Story is in both book and animation form. Both recite stories of Dylan walking his dog Lola with his father before he goes to prison

The animation depicts a young boy named Dylan as he faces the challenges of having a father in prison and the experience and emotions of visiting him.

The project was funded by £15,000 raised by the charity's Big Give campaign last year.

Mark Proctor, director of operations at Ormiston Families, told BBC Radio Norfolk Dylan's Story was inspired by listening to young people about "the things that really effect them" when they have a parent in prison.

Hidden Sentence

The project refers to the "hidden sentence" a child faces when a loved one is in prison.

"We think about the person going to prison but we forget about the children and young people that are left behind," he said.

"Having a parent in prison raises mixed emotions for them. Anger, grief, anxiety and depression. Sometimes guilt.

"These are compounded by the fact that people don't tend to talk about having a family member in prison".

Dylan's Story has been made in both animation and book form and was funded by a previous Ormiston Families project last year

The charity works with prisons in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge and Essex.

It hoped to break down the barriers children have with talking about the prison experience.

"As a society we don't talk about it. It's very stigmatised. It makes it hard for those children to maintain those positive links with that family member in prison.

"There is compelling evidence that if a prisoner feels invested in by their family, and that they have something to live for, they're statistically less likely themselves to go on to commit new offences and their children are less likely to," Mr Proctor added.

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