Out There Supporting Families of Prisoners | The Clothworkers' Foundation

Out There

(Supporting Families of Prisoners)

Photo from Out There, inlcuding an illustration with icons showcasing the charity's work through the pandemic.

Out There is a Trafford-based charity offering support to families and children across Greater Manchester to alleviate some of the impact of having a loved one in prison.

Two weeks after CECP opened to applications, we awarded £2,400 to this charity, enabling it to purchase laptops and computers. This IT equipment was necessary to facilitate helping staff to move to homeworking and deliver a range of activities online to families. On the grant application, the charity wrote, ‘Our computers and laptops are old, and even though we have attempted to upgrade software on them, it has been difficult ... This grant will enable us to make that happen quickly and prepare us not just for the next few months, but also for the longer-term future. It will enable us to successfully deliver our services remotely ... [and] we can continue to support the community we serve responsively and creatively.’

Throughout 2020, Out There supported families and children with online arts, crafts and cooking classes, pantomimes and magic shows, as well as doorstep deliveries of food, treats and books.

‘[The range of activities since the pandemic] just shows how the grant was so enabling to us – we were not digitally ready when all this happened and look at all the events [since]. It’s the other impact too – we are a small team, and yours was one of our first [grants] at the start of a very difficult time. It was an emotional morale boost,’

Mark Turnbull, CEO, Out There