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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
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'Just Visiting' |
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Behind the scenes in our community are people, mostly volunteers, working to make life tolerable for those who struggle with their circumstances. One such organisation is the Tasmanian Association of Prisoner Support Services. Tasmanian Anglican editor Sheelagh Wegman recently spoke with the chairperson of this group, Debra Rees. SW What exactly is TAPSSINC? DR It's a community organisation that supports released prisoners, most particularly their families. It is overseen by a board which meets each month and includes three serving prisoners. Our patron is Michael Tate and several members of the board are Christians. SW At what stage does TAPSSINC become involved in this support? DR It can be as soon as a prisoner is remanded. If remanded, the prisoner cannot go home to collect clothes or feed the cat. He/she may have parked the car near the court but won't be allowed out to move it. TAPSSINC can contact relatives and has volunteers who can help with these practical details. If a prisoner has no family or friends, or if they come from another part of Tasmania it can be extremely difficult. SW What happens to their home and belongings? DR We have some limited storage and can pack up someone's flat or unit and store their things until their release. We can arrange for disconnection of phone and power - the practicalities. It has happened that a landlord has simply cleared out a prisoner's home and dumped everything at the tip and then re-let the place. They also need clothes - they may be remanded in summer, in tee-shirt and shorts. The court appearance could be months later and TAPSSINC can get them suitable clothes to wear then. SW Not many of us would know all that. How important is family support for the prisoner ? DR I can't over-emphasise the importance of that. Families of prisoners often have little knowledge of the process of court and prison. Our 'Just Visiting' program is designed to assist families with their first visit, provide information about visiting, prison rules, other services available in the community. We produce information brochures - particularly for children and carers of children affected by imprisonment. SW You said there is evidence of the benefit of supporting the family. According to a study by the Prison Reform Trust in Britain there is six times less recidivism in prisoners who have family support. That is why TAPSSINC is so keen to support the families, to keep them together. It can be very hard for children - you can imagine the difficulties they would have with their peers. And their role models are not the ideal. We'd like to do more in this area as they do in Western Australia with the 'Outcare' program. SW How much contact can prisoners have with their families? DR The permitted one-hour weekly visit can be very difficult. 60% of prisoners come from the North and NorthWest of the state. Bus fares are expensive; families can't phone directly to the prisoner; the prisoner can phone them, but has to pay for calls out of the prisoner's allowance. Those who are employed in the prison earn a little more than those who are unemployed. SW As an official visitor you visit regularly. What does that entail? DR I usually visit weekly but can be called at any time day or night if there are 'issues'. I'm a bit like an umpire in helping to resolve things. SW What does TAPSSINC do when a prisoner is released? DR As the release date nears minimum security prisoners can go on day release. We help with their 're-socialisation', to re-learn the things we all take for granted: banking, catching buses, shopping. They become very institutionalised and the longer their sentence the stranger they find the outside world. They are often very unfit, too - prison is on the flat. Walking up even a moderate hill can be very challenging! SW How can we support TAPSSINC? DR As we are a new organisation it is difficult to attract funding - to employ a part-time co-ordinator and keep operational we will need a minimum of $40 000 this financial year and that will not pay for the programs and services we want to implement. We also need experienced Board Members. We need helpers, not necessarily for visiting, but people prepared to do the 'gritty' stuff - move a parked car, pack up a rented flat, arrange care of pets, disconnect the power and phone, assist the families on the outside. It is not the 'warm, fuzzy' kind of help we need, but people who do help find it enormously rewarding, just knowing they can make a difference, especially to a family.
Contact TAPSSINC at PO Box 147 Glenorchy or email tapssinc@bigpond.com |
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