Volunteer Conference 2024
A Day Out At The New Bridge Volunteer Conference: a summary by volunteer Joy
When my alarm rang at 5.15am, I jumped out of bed thinking I must have missed my train to London. I would usually have a longer time in bed on Saturdays catching up on lost sleep from a hectic week but not the 6th of July: I was heading down south to attend a conference with many others I would be meeting for the very first time. I got to the train station and hopped on the train which left promptly at 6.07am. Time went by quickly, after three and a half hours and several stops we arrived at the busy Kings Cross station with the rain pouring down as I realised I had left my coat behind. What a strange and chilly summer it has been! It wasn't long before I met other attendees in the foyer of the King’s College venue where the conference would be held. I introduced myself to a few people who kindly confirmed I was in the right place. Almost everyone know someone else, I was probably the newest kid on the block.
And what did these people attending a conference all have in common? We are all befriending people in prison (writing to and visiting them) with over 10,000 letters posted in the last twelve months alone and a few in attendance have been befriending for over twenty years! At the start of the conference I was still unsure if I was in the right place but as I walked out of the venue later that evening I was glad to be part of such a rare community that’s making a difference one letter at a time. They claim to be a small charity but they are making no small difference at all. The stats speak for themselves, many more prisoners who are signing up to access the service are feeling much better. With a waiting list and a queue that's gone round several blocks, that's one clue something’s worth the wait, hopefully getting more volunteers on board will reduce the list of prisoners desperately waiting for a friendly contact from someone soon. Our befriending with prisoners is on a different level, it's courteous, non-judgemental and with a genuine interest to provide support to those who claim to have no one else in this world.
The conference sessions were brilliant. I had never heard about Koestler Arts, what an incredible work they do in carefully managing, preserving and celebrating the stories of many we will never meet or know. Many of the pictures and art work left indelible marks on my soul, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, and we saw that as the slides were projected. How many hours had been spent in solitary confinement drawing, painting or carving? I began to think about our collective time in lockdown and how we all got creative but now, we have moved back quickly to the rhythm of the hustle and bustle in our fast-paced world but many behind bars will continue to experience a never-ending ending ‘lockdown’ which provides the solitude and mental quiet to share the scars of their soul with the rest of us. Each piece of art sends a unique message of despair sprinkled with hope. If I attended one of those exhibitions I'd never ever believe these pieces were prepared by people in prison.
Listening to the presentation on Liberty Kitchen was partly a lot of torture but also delight as slide after slide was shared of picture-perfect yummy meals and snacks which could be seen but not touched. This is certainly a charity that's uniquely exploring the collaborative opportunities and efforts within and outside the prison walls. The prison experience changes people in more ways than they can imagine but it's definitely given some a go at doing what they never thought they could do. The smiles on the faces of those who took part did not reflect the pain of where they were, this was obviously a good distraction from hopelessness around them. I wonder if those who bought the meals at the market were told who had prepared them, I would certainly relish every bite knowing that this wasn’t quite a regular meal. I really hope there are opportunities for more markets around the country, that would bring hope and smiles to huddles of men and women cooking together for such a worthy cause.
The session before lunch was quite depressing to be honest, we were informed about the extensive and expensive inspections that are conducted week in and out across several prisons in the country but almost nothing is done to implement the recommendations. The thought of having more prisoners than the allowable capacity in many facilities is frightening, that each prisoner's daily meal is worth a paltry amount of £2 only and the deaths recorded are a sad reminder of the state of things with desperate need for reforms in the justice system. It was even more upsetting to learn that not everyone in there should really be there and if many who have been released are returning in there, hasn't the system failed?
During the break I had a chat with someone who shared some unexpected thoughts about the motive behind reoffending, which certainly needs some research to confirm. Who would have thought that some had found the prisons a safe place to return to? Why would you look forward to being released only to end up in the same dark space not too long after? He went on to suggest that after some prisoners are released, they struggle to adjust to life outside prison, with no access to genuine friendships, no housing or employment, so life behind bars seemed an alternative and they ‘work hard’ to return there by doing whatever they could to get caught. At the least, in there they have a roof over their heads and a meal each day. Sad! I thought.
When the next speaker came up to the podium and mentioned JIGSAW, my first thought was some interesting game had been invented by the police to keep the prisoners engaged and entertained but was disappointed that JIGSAW was a complicated process to register, categorise and track sex offenders. With 32,000 on this register in London alone, I bet almost everyone knows someone who's being tracked. The speaker said this was his best job role in 22 years, as he gets to help support people who are committed to changing their behaviour.
The next and final presentation was a breath of fresh air, a lecturer from Birmingham City University who was once a volunteer with New Bridge had investigated the impact of strangers’ kindness on prisoners. Her study suggests that there is substantial evidence that befriending has one of the highest impact on prisoners compared to all the other collective efforts of clinical psychologists, support from prison guards, rehabilitation all put together. Befriending is leading the way with prisoners feeling like they mattered and they had a purpose to live for. It's such an irony, I still can't wrap my head around the results from this study, that a simple letter has such a massive impact than many of the programs offered to the prisoners.
I was worried about getting back late but also unhappy about missing the last part of the conference when the audience heard from a panel of former service users: feedback from other volunteers is that this was a particular highlight! It would be four hours before I arrived home and I needed to catch the train in time. This was certainly a different kind of conference, with lots to think about and I’ll be looking forward to the next one next year.
Surprise! I got home just before 9pm and there on the floor at the door was a letter for me. I thought it was another bill but it wasn’t, it was my first letter from my befriendee all the way from the Isle of Wight. No way! I think I read his letter a few times before it dawned on me that a real person in prison has replied to my first letter to him.
I do get a bit jealous about people who take part in triathlons and extreme things to raise funds for charity but I don't particularly enjoy open water swimming or running so won’t be taking part in those events, but I'm seriously considering doing a bake sale or setting up a justgiving page to raise more funds for our amazing charity. We can all do something no matter how small the effort as every penny raised goes to training more volunteers who would write more letters and visit more prisoners, offering a flicker of hope to many more.
If Joy has inspired you to think about volunteering with us then you can find out more about what's involved here: https://www.newbridgefoundation.org.uk/volunteer