Dumfries and Galloway prisoners offered family return help

The new service hopes to help ease the transition from prison back to family life

A new support service in south west Scotland hopes to help prisoners return to family life on their release.

The Aberlour children's charity will work with inmates before and after they leave jail to help smooth their transition back home.

It is part of a joint-project between the Scottish Prison Service and Dumfries and Galloway's Alcohol and Drug Partnership.

It is backed by £140,000 from the Scottish government's Challenge Fund.

David Barr, associate director of Aberlour's Families Together service, said having a parent or sibling in prison could have a significant impact on a child's mental health and well-being.

He said that when the absent family member returned it could place a huge strain on relationships.

'Unplanned transition'

"What happens when a family member is in prison, the family get into a new way of working, a new way of coping without that family member," he said.

"Then what happens is often a very quick and unplanned transition which can be difficult for both of them."

He said that could "throw routines out" and was why they aimed to offer more long-term support.

"Everyone's stress levels can go up and that makes it much more difficult to work effectively as a family," he said.

"We recognise that people who are planning to return home have an opportunity to reconnect - they are all much more prepared.

"That's why we think it is very important also to continue offering support after the family member has returned back home again."

Meaningful contact

Studies have shown that ensuring prisoners have meaningful contact with their families prior to release reduces the likelihood of reoffending.

Stuart Pomfret, of the SPS, said the support service being provided by Aberlour underpinned their own efforts to help inmates make the transition.

"Our process of through care and getting people back into the community really starts when they come in," he said.

"Any agency that we can set up a partnership with to help that transition from custody back into the community is going to help the individual in the long-run."