We're raising funds for an activity packed weekend for children impacted by parental imprisonment to share experiences, bond and have fun!
by Children Heard and Seen in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Any additional funds raised will be used to increase the number of activities provided for families and to help subsidise transport for families traveling to the residential from further afield. Last year, with our support, families travelled from as far as Cornwall, Manchester and Leeds to attend. As this residential weekend is set to be even bigger, we want to make sure we can support families to attend and reduce barriers to accessing support.
This August, we will be hosting a weekend-long residential for children impacted by parental imprisonment, and we need your support to make this happen. This year's residential is set to be our biggest yet, with over 150 family members attending from across the country!
The residential is being held the Hill End Outdoor Education Centre, a beautiful 67-acre site with plenty of space for the children to play outdoors and connect with nature.
Children impacted by parental imprisonment often face shame, stigma and social isolation, with nearly half of the families we support not talking to anyone outside of their family about the imprisonment before they contact Children Heard and Seen.
The Residential Weekend will provide an opportunity for children to take part in activities that build their self-confidence, self-esteem, and resilience, raise their aspirations and celebrate their skills and achievements surrounded by others who are sharing their experience. They will be free to talk about their experience of having a parent in prison without the fear of being judged.
Many of the children that we support primarily access online group work and one to ones. The residential is a fantastic opportunity for children that we support across the country to meet their new friends in person. This year, we anticipate that this will be our biggest residential yet, with over 150 family members coming together to share experiences, bond and have fun!
One highlight from the Residential weekend is that the event will also be attended by two Community Police Officers. The officers speak to the children and show them that they can achieve anything that they want to and aren’t defined by their parent’s mistakes. At last year’s residential, this talk was so powerful that it gave one young boy the confidence to put his hand up and talk about his father’s imprisonment for the first time in front of other families.
ABOUT CHILDREN HEARD AND SEEN
We are the only UK based charity offering specialised one to one support, online activities, mentors, group activity sessions and a safe space for children with a parent in prison to share their experiences and feelings in their own communities. We are dedicated to:
For more information about the work that we do, check out our website and our Impact Report below.