What is Community Chaplaincy?

Community Chaplaincy recognises the damage that is caused to individuals and to the community through crime. It exists to provide support to people leaving prison of all faiths and none, providing professional mentoring, befriending and support to people facing a range of issues. (Saltbox Christian Centre)

John Barnes, from the Walsall Community Chaplaincy Project, adds that Community Chaplaincy is about making the transition from prison to freedom as seamless as possible for the ex-offender.

More to Freedom than being free

John says, “People might think that regaining freedom after being locked up would be the one thing a prisoner would crave above everything else. But it’s really just five minutes of euphoria and once that is over, reality kicks in.

“In prison, the inmates have support from officers for the things that they need to do. Once they are freed, the officers are not allowed to have contact with them. So they’re on the outside, with little or no money, and when they find that there is no one to help or to meet them, it’s not such a desirable situation after all.

They need our help

“Usually, they will need help with things like housing and benefits and even though the relevant agencies say they treat ex-offenders with priority, it’s just not fast enough. It takes at least a week or more for them to get any benefits. What are they supposed to do in the meantime?

“If they don’t have positive mentors around them, some can end up hanging around the wrong crowd and that’s a sure fire way for them to fine themselves on the fast track back to prison.

“The problem is particularly acute for people who have been in prison for under 12 months. There are usually no programmes on the outside to help them and without that vital support mechanism, re-offending rates can be very high.

“Our aim is to cut re-offending rates and to help ex-offenders to reintegrate into society. This is desirable for the whole society as any victim of crime will confirm.”

If you would like to get involved with your local Community Chaplaincy project, look for your nearest group in our resources database.