Families Outside is the only national charity that works solely on behalf of families in Scotland affected by imprisonment

In June 2024, Families Outside will be hosting an event for and with families affected by imprisonment.

This is part of our strategy to connect families, and we hope that, in attending the event, families will enjoy a fun, inclusive, and meaningful day among others with shared experiences.

There will also be a chance to find out more about the services and opportunities available and to discover new ways to get directly involved with our work. Families have told us this is what they want, and we’ve listened!

We are the only national charity that works solely on behalf of families in Scotland affected by imprisonment. We believe it’s important to emphasise that our definition of families is broad. It includes those with and without children and those who may not be a blood relation but are still affected in some way.

All individuals of any age, background, or circumstance affected by someone's imprisonment will be welcome to attend. This is regardless of whether they are in contact with the person in prison. What we would like to communicate to families is that, if you have been affected by another person’s imprisonment in Scotland, this event is for you.

We’re pleased to say that there’s already a lot going on for families at Families Outside.

Our helpline operates Monday to Friday from 9am – 5pm for any support and information families (and the professionals supporting them) may need; we have regional family support coordinators who provide direct, solution-focused, face-to-face support to families affected by imprisonment throughout the whole of Scotland; and we also have our Connecting Families team who, as it says on the tin, connect families to our work, to other families, and to a variety of opportunities that might suit them.

This family event is part of our wider efforts to expand our engagement with families. It’s important to us that families are not only involved in work to support them but also in the delivery of our wider portfolio of work, with opportunities to get involved with anything from focus groups to media opportunities.

However, as we’re still in the early phase of planning the event, we’re looking for families affected by imprisonment to become involved with all stages of planning. It’s important that the content of the day be largely down to families who can tell us what they want and need to have an enjoyable and worthwhile day.

We do hope that families we’ve worked with in the past (and present) will get involved with the event. However, we would also like the event to be an opportunity to reach and work with families we haven’t yet met so that we can engage an even wider group of people with this shared experience. We’re always working towards our goal to engage with families at the earliest opportunity!

So that we get the content of the day just right, we would like to start by asking you to share this survey with families you work with who may be affected by imprisonment to give their views and opinions around this event: Family event consultation This is also available to download as a printable version of the survey here which can be returned to Jazmine via email at jazmine.bennett@familiesoutside.org.uk or post to 17 Gayfield Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3NX.

Thanks for your support!

Jazmine Bennett is training and events coordinator for Families Outside.