Staring slow 

When Kelsey first came to our Prisoners’ Families service, she was finding it difficult to express and manage her emotions. Her dad was in prison and she was struggling to understand why she couldn’t see him anymore. This affected her emotional wellbeing and also led to bullying at school.

After our initial meeting with Kelsey, we understood that we’d need to take a tailored approach that was best suited to her needs. Her confidence was low, so we wanted to support her in a way that wouldn’t feel like too much too soon.

One-to-one support

We gave Kelsey her own key worker who she could meet with on a one-to-one basis. It was really important that we built a relationship slowly and at a pace she was comfortable with.

During the one-to-one sessions, we supported Kelsey to explore and understand her emotions and gave her practical tips to look after her wellbeing when she was at home or school. We also supported her to find healthy outlets to manage her anger and ways she could build her confidence.

Sharing her story

As Kelsey’s confidence grew, she told us she’d like to take part in the creative writing sessions that were happening in partnership with Writing on the Wall, a social enterprise passionate about telling real stories and giving people a platform to have a voice. This was a massive step for Kelsey, and resulted in her writing being published in a book called Home.

Seeing Kelsey not only reflect on her emotions, but also putting them into words and having them shared in such a public way was incredible. We were so proud of Kelsey and all of the children who took part in this amazing project.

Going from strength-to-strength

Now that Kelsey’s confidence was growing, we thought she might like to join our social days out with the other children. A perfect opportunity to make friends, have fun, and be around other children who know what it’s like to walk in her shoes.

With the support from her key worker, she agreed to come along, and we’re so glad that she did. Here’s what Kelsey told us: 'I’m really proud of myself - did you see the size of that rollercoaster I went on. I was really scared at first and then I did it. I can’t wait to tell my dad; I feel like I can do anything now.'

From being supported to supporting others

Since leaving the service, Kelsey has joined her local community centre, where she gets involved in sports activities like football, netball and hockey. Not only that, but she’s now also supporting other children to get involved and be part of the group too. Kelsey reached out to her key worker and told her: 'Out of all the times I’ve had at PSS, the most I enjoyed was having talks with you. I trusted you so much and could tell you anything. You helped me find who I want to be, thank you so much.'

We’re so proud of Kelsey and the progress she’s made since leaving Prisoners’ Families. Being sent feedback like that shows us the support we’re providing truly is life-changing.

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