Prisoners’ Sunday falls this year on 13 October. With the support of Liaison Bishop for Prisons Richard Moth, Pactinvites parishes across England and Wales to bring people in prison, and their children and families, before the Lord in prayer.

Pact is the national Catholic charity supporting prisoners, people with convictions, and their families. This year marks 125 years since the charity’s formation as the Catholic

Prisoners’ Aid Society. Today Pact supports people of all faiths and none, working in more than 60 prisons, in courts, and in communities across England and Wales. The support of Catholic parishes has been and continues to be invaluable.

Our prisons are in crisis. There are record numbers of people behind bars. Inspectors regularly report instances ofvermin, violence, self-harm and people languishing in cells with nothing to do. At the same time, too many people arereleased with no home, no job, no family and no hope.

The ripple effects of this crisis are felt well beyond the prison walls. The lives of hundreds of thousands of familiesand children are affected as they too serve a hidden sentence. Having a mother, father, husband or wife in prison can have a devastating impact – more than half of families tell us they are struggling to afford the basics for them and their children.

In September, every Catholic parish will receive a Prisoners’ Sunday pack with a poster, bidding prayers, and a message from Pact President Cardinal Vincent Nichols. The charity encourages all parishes across England and Wales to mark the day on 13 October – or another nearby Sunday – respectfully requesting a second collection for those who choose and are able to donate. The money raised will help Pact to do more in the year ahead to supportwomen and men in prison and their children and families.

Pact CEO Andy Keen-Downs shares: “Every day, I hear how our prisons are in crisis. Prisons are overcrowded andinspection reports are often dire. There are many in prison

experiencing mental health crises. Whilst with the new government we are waiting for system change,we must carry on, sleeves rolled up on the prison wings and landings. The change we make happen every day is in the human heart. People only change when they believe it is possible and when they find the motivation.”

“The Prime Minister recently announced that our prisons are in crisis. As a friend and supporter of Pact, you will know that we have been saying this for some time and calling for radical change. Prisons are not just overcrowded; they are now almost completely full. The new Government has resorted to an early release programme to free up spaces and to begin to tackle the squalor, and record levels of violence and self-harm. And so our Pact workers are busier than ever. Over the coming months, thousands of prisoners will be released early.Many will hope to be reunited with family. Some will have no one to return to, and nowhere to call home. Most will need a job.

Many will be in urgent need of practical, financial and emotional support. The probation service is struggling, and in some areas, is overwhelmed. So, as has been the case so many times in the past, we are stepping up, and we arecalling for help. We will do all we can to support these men and women to make a fresh start, to give them the support they need to live crime free lives. As we mark 125 years of service, please support us this Prisoners’ Sunday, to build bridges of hope for people leaving prison.”

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Pact is a pioneering national, Catholic charity that supports prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families. We provide caring and life changing services at every stage of the criminal justice process: in court, in prison,on release, and in the community.

Pact’s vision is of a society in which justice is understood as a process of restoration and healing, in which prisons areused sparingly and as places of learning and rehabilitation, and in which the innate dignity and worth of every humanbeing is valued. We work for the common good of society, taking a public health-based approach. We work at the intersection of criminal justice, child and family welfare, mental health, wellbeing provision and health & social care.

Website: www.prisonadvice.org.uk

Pact is a charity registered in England & Wales, number 219278. Company registration number: 356443.