The Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) developed the Visiting Mum program in HMP Eastwood Park, a women’s prison in Gloucestershire, southwestern England, in response to the fact that a number of imprisoned mothers were not receiving visits from their children, which was resulting in high levels of depression, anxiety and self-harming. The location of HMP Eastwood Park in proximity to Wales, and the fact that Wales does not have a women’s prison, means many women are detained at least 60 miles from home, with some as far away as 150 miles, making the facilitation of physical contact between mother and child difficult.
PACT developed this program through collaboration with the prison’s Family Services Manager and two Family Engagement Workers, responsible for identifying incoming prisoners who are mothers at risk of losing contact with their children in Wales, and with an organisation of volunteers who are trained and responsible for guiding visits. Visiting Mum visits are more private than normal ‘social visits’, and allow mothers and their children to spend longer, more intimate time together. Mothers prepare for the visits by preparing activities for their kids, and normal prison protocols are relaxed to create a welcoming atmosphere.
