seen as 'trouble-makers' may become isolated or be excluded from mainstream schooling. When this happens the risk of them becoming involved in criminal activity grows. They face the challenges of drugs, bullying, abuse, poverty and family breakdown alone - sometimes because their own parents are in prison. The impact a parent's imprisonment has on their children is not fully known. But Spurgeons believes that it is crucial to help children to address the root-causes of their problems, support children and their families while they have a family member in prison and ensure they break the cycle of imprisonment within families. In partnership with the police, schools, social workers and Youth Offending teams, Spurgeons supports families at times of crisis and provide one-to-one mentoring and befriending for children. Spurgeons run child focused visitors centres in a number of prisons. These include: HMP Belmarsh HMP Brixton HMP Feltham HMP Isis HMP Woodhill HMP Pentonville HMP Wandsworth HMP Wormwood Scrubs HMP Winchester The visitors centres ensure children have the most safe and comfortable experience when they visit a parent in prison. Spurgeons also offers targeted programmes for young offenders or those at risk of offending – including mentoring for young people in custody, through the gate, and family based intervention to prevent offending and reoffending. Invisible Walls Spurgeons also provide a project called ‘Invisible Walls’. Spurgeons’ Invisible Walls family support service is based at HMP/YOI Winchester, a local Category B/C prison. The service works in partnership with the prison and a range of agencies to support fathers in custody and their families in a range of ways. 1. Support for visiting... A key part of the service is the Visitors’ Centre, which acts as a hub for family support, and offers comprehensive access to information about local services within families’ communities. The 7-day-a-week service is supported by a large volunteer workforce who are trained and understand the needs that children and families visiting prison may experience. 2. Support for fathers inside... Within the prison, Invisible Walls offers a range of parenting support to fathers, including parenting programmes and Family Days, to assist them develop and maintain healthy relationships with their families wherever possible, both during custody and on release into the community. Invisible Walls acts as a bridging service to help meet the resettlement needs of fathers and their families on release as part of a multi-agency response. 3. Work with agencies outside...