We have been volunteering at PACT in HMP Cardiff throughout our final year at university. We applied for this position as we both shared a concern in regards to what support and care is offered for service users and their families, in what must be the most difficult period of their lives. The importance of supporting families has often been overlooked, however, from working with PACT we have both witnessed the invaluable work they do and we are proud to be a part of it. As a part of this voluntary work we both assist in the play area and tea bar in an attempt to make the environment less hostile for visiting children and to promote positive relationships with families, which are both of vital importance to the service user. Alongside this work, we have also been lucky enough to attend a number of training days which has broadened our knowledge and understanding of some of the daily struggles of prison life and the affect these struggles have not only on the service user, but also their families. Recently, we attended psychosocial interventions training at HMP Swansea. This training provided us with a number of useful resources and helped us gain skills which we feel will be vital for our future involvement with mentoring; another opportunity that PACT has created for us. After this training, we sat in a Regional Meeting with PACT employees that were based across Wales and the South West. We felt very lucky to be able to learn more about the incredible work that goes on across the organisation and the variety of projects which are underway. We have both thoroughly enjoyed our involvement with PACT so far and look forward to being involved in more opportunities that are available to us in the future.
Month: February 2015
Digital Storytelling
Last week five of us from Swansea, Cardiff and Usk/Prescoed embarked on a three day Digital Storytelling course. This training has been on the cards for a while but finding three days where we’re all free proved harder than we first thought so it was great to finally get going.
Digital Storytelling is a beautiful way for people to tell their journey. When done well it seamlessly blends photos and words to create a two and a half minute narrative on any subject at all. Lisa and Iain, our trainers from StoryWorks only had three days to teach us everything from interview technique to photo editing; story telling to movie making.
Before we arrived we knew little of what we would be doing. We had been told to bring some photos of something important to us that we’d be able to use to create a Digital Story on. This was easy enough for me – I can happily talk about my circus obsession for hours. What took me by surprise was the news that we would not be doing a Digital Story on ourselves. Instead someone else would interview us, decide what sound bites to keep and which to discard before choosing the best few photos to fit with the recording. I wouldn’t like to describe myself as a control freak, but ceding this power to someone else was very difficult. What if they didn’t use my favourite photos? What if they didn’t get across the message I wanted them to?
The time constraints of the course meant that we were only able to focus on the story we were editing. It was not possible to have any input into the story that Christine was making on me. Luckily for me Christine put together a lovely video based on what I’d given her. However, the experience of not being consulted on the end product before it was aired I found very disconcerting and disempowering.
As a concept, I’m completely sold on Digital Storytelling. It’s a very powerful tool to use when telling someone’s story. A lot of the work we do and the impact we have is immeasurable. I hope that we can use Digital Storytelling to show people more of our work. It will be great to use in workshops for professionals, or with children and young people to let them know that they are not alone in their thoughts and feelings. When it comes to doing our first video, I hope that we are able to consult the story tellers at every point in the editing process so that this is something we do together and doesn’t end up as another thing that is done to them.
Thoughts from a young Cardiff Dad
“I am 33 years old and have been in prison for almost three months of a three year sentence; it has had an impact not just on me, but my partner and other family. I have a close family who stand by me and help, but I know I am one of the lucky ones that has this support. I still struggle because my partner is eight months pregnant with our first child, so being away from her while she is pregnant hurts. I am going to miss the birth of my first child and at least the first year of her life.
Yes I know I will make it up to my unborn daughter upon release, but that does not stop me thinking of the time I am going to miss. Being locked in your cell for twenty-two hours a day makes you think constantly of your loved ones. Since I’ve gained employment, it is easier. I speak to my partner on the phone everyday and see her once a week, but, when my partner is going through this without me because of my silly actions, I could never forgive myself if something happened or went wrong and I wasn’t there for her.
It is only now that I have heard of PACT and hopefully I will be able to work with them in the near future. PACT is a charity based agency from outside the prison that works within HMP Cardiff helping families stay in touch. Some of the things PACT do are parenting courses, family days and the one that appeals to me is the new born baby group, which involves me having regular, extended visits with my partner and new born daughter which will allow me to feed my baby, change nappies and experience a lot more of her early stages of life. I will be able to form a better bond with my daughter while I’m in prison.
Things are definitely looking up, I saw a member of the PACT team in passing, got talking with her and she took my details. I am now really looking forward to working with them and spending some quality time with my daughter when she arrives into this world. My whole perspective of this sentence has changed because I now have something to look forward to and work towards. I now feel so much more positive.
As for the next step, March 2nd will be a day I will never forget: my beautiful Abigail finally comes into this world and thanks to PACT, I will be spending quality time with her and my family, something that I never thought possible when I received my sentence”.
pactcymru 