Storybook Dads and Mum 

From information from Storybook Dads and Mum and the Centre for Social Justice Foundation

Every year in the UK, over 300,000 children experience the imprisonment of a parent. It often leads to shame, guilt & isolation resulting in failure at school. These children are three times more prone to mental health problems than their peers. Keeping in contact can be difficult from behind bars; prisoners may be held long distances from their families. Those that maintain contact are up to 6 times less likely to re-offend.

Storybook Dads and Mum enables families to reconnect through the magic of storytelling. They help parents in prison to record bedtime stories and messages for their children on CD or DVD. For many families, these story discs are a lifeline, helping to heal rifts and build vital family relationships.  It shows the children they are loved and missed. It helps prisoners to feel valued as parents and gives them the opportunity to have a positive impact on their children’s lives.

Storybook Dads and Mum works in approximately 100 UK prisons, including women's prisons and young offender institutes. They also work in a small number of Secure Training Centres and Secure Hospitals.

Watch this 3 min video here about their work: