April In April, the focus was our work with families. We offer emotional and practical support to people who find out their relative or loved one is incarcerated overseas. In 2018 we were working with 1,716 family members. For comparison, in 2019 we were assisting 2041 family members and friends of prisoners. Stories Have a look at our stories, where family members of people in prison talk about the difficulties they face, and how with support they can manage the challenges. Family Network In March 2018 we launched our new Online Family Network; a network of forums our family members can use to read about other people's experiences and to post their own questions. Read Amber's blog talking about the re-launch. Family Support Groups A Family member told us what they thought of the support group she attended in Manchester. It took her two years to build the courage to go along. "It was a revelation," she stated, "I would urge people to take the first step and go." Read the full account. Family Days A family member wasn't sure how she'd manage all her emotions when attending a family day. But she writes about how comforting it was meeting families in similar situations to her. Support with languages In addition to practical and emotional support, our prisoner and family support team are able to assist family members in navigating prison systems by liaising with prison systems in different countries. Most commonly in French and Spanish, our caseworkers can help arrange prison visits, understand difficulties that are being presented to family members by talking directly to a prison, or translating documents that have been issued. Finding out a relative or a loved one is in prison is often hard enough, but incarcerated in a different country can be a whole other story. Family members of people we are supporting in France talk about the difficulties they went through and how support with the language barrier has been instrumental. On the International Day of Families We are recognising how difficult it is for people in prison to be apart from their families, and how significant it is when you see them after a long time. A prisoner in the US says how it made him feel: "I got to spend five hours each day for five straight day's with them. Giving and receiving a hug by my mum and dad was the highlight of my year. Getting to sit down face to face with no glass partition separating us and holding hands was amazing, for a couple of days I got to feel like a human being. Something Prisoners Abroad does as well. Therefore I'm very grateful for what you guys do.” Manage Cookie Preferences