More about Castle Gate Family Trust

T

The Castle Gate Family Trust is a small charitable company, which exists to

• reduce the trauma and effects of family separation throughout the criminal justice system – from Court to release
• help to maintain family relationships

At the sentencing stage

Our Courts Family Support Project provides defendants/offenders families with support and up to date information relating to the prison procedures and regimes at HMP Gloucester during the period of remand, after sentencing and if there is relocation to another prison in England or Wales.

The families are informed of the destination of the defendant/offender. Details of Prison Visits and contact arrangements are provided at the earliest opportunity to reduce the trauma and fear of the unknown elements of their experience.  Reducing the worry and anxiety of the families during the court and sentencing process can improve the chances of the family continuing their support for the accused and reduce the current rate of 22% of prisoners who lose contact at this point.

While the prisoner serves the sentence

Family support continues to be vital following conviction. If a prisoner keeps in contact with their family they are 6 times less likely to re-offend. Inadequate support of prisoners and their families means that 67.4% ex-offenders will be reconvicted within 2 years of leaving prison and 45% of prisoners lose touch with their families.

150,000 children have a parent in prison. 75% of these children will go on to commit a crime. 30% of prisoner’s children suffer significant mental health problems. 65% of children of male prisoners will end up in prison themselves.

Our contacts with the prison, our child support work in the community, and our work in the visitors' centre all help us to help prisoners' families maintain their relationships.

On release

We help families prepare for release, helping, for example, to set up drug rehabilitation to continue the treatment a prisoner received in prison; or providing time with our Children and Young People's Support Worker for yougsters who want to talk through their parent's return.

Working in partnership

To ensure that we provide effective up to date information we are creating and maintaining essential links between with the Court Users Group, Reliance, Probation, the Court Stewards, Offender Supervisors, the prison and other members of the Castle Gate Family Support Team/statutory agencies; with whom family referrals are made or can be received in order to enhance or extend the services we are collectively delivering.