We had a conversation with Hugh, The Welcome Directory Champion at Hope Street Church in Wrexham that runs a variety of community-led programmes aimed at supporting people leaving prison. We heard about how they collaborate with the local prison chaplaincy team and other organisations to connect with and offer unwavering support to people leaving prison.
About my Faith Community
We’re a new and diverse church. with people from a range of nationalities and ages. Most of our congregation are in their 20s and 30s and many come with their young families.
Community work (with a variety of people in socially disadvantaged groups) is at the heart of our church. For example, we run a Recovery Course with around 18-20 people attending and this programme is particularly important to me, as someone with lived experience of substance misuse. Another example of our community work includes providing Love Christmas presents for the local prison, the mental health unit and to other socially disadvantaged people in our community.
How Prison Leavers Are Put In Touch With Us
We work closely with our local prison’s chaplaincy team and especially with a Christian charity working there who put us in touch with people leaving prison. We also have good links with probation who refer people to our Recovery Course and we are looking to develop these links in the future. We have found that being registered in The Welcome Directory also means that prison leavers can find us online and come along to worship or attend events.
How We Support People Leaving Prison
In the past year we’ve supported 6-8 prison leavers, the majority of whom have come from our local prison, however some have come from further away or who have been out of prison for longer.
We support prison leavers in a number of ways – through our Recovery Course, Warm Welcome space and through the informal mentoring we offer. We meet with prison leavers 1-to-1 to share with them the support we offer. We have a really strong core group of volunteers who go into prison to run Alpha courses and are willing to support prison leavers after release as well. This can be as simple as providing lifts to probation meetings or hospital appointments or going for a coffee and sharing the journey. We are hoping to develop a befriending scheme in the near future to enhance this work further. Our support doesn’t end if someone is recalled or re-convicted and we carry on supporting and praying for someone whatever happens.
The Difference Our Community Makes
Welcoming prison leavers has made a real difference to our whole community. It reminds us that we’re the family of God. I often say that the church should be more like a recovery group, where we can be real with one another and our work with prison leavers reinforces that sentiment. Prison leavers often come to us with big ideas for wanting to serve and support others, which is really inspiring for our community.
For people leaving prison, I hope that our support means that they know they’re not alone and that there is hope. Many of the prison leavers in our community want structure and accountability and attending a small worship and study group, having a mentor, or coming to our Recovery Group hopefully offers the structure and support they need.
Thank you to Hugh at Hope Street Church in Wrexham for sharing your time and story with us and for the difference you are making for people who have left prison.
Disclaimer: This case study represents the individual’s views, not the views of their organisation
