Year of Giving Back: The Elizabeth Fry Charity

Our charity to support in March is the Elizabeth Fry Charity based in Reading. It’s been nominated by one of our campers who volunteers there as a worthwhile place for women who’ve taken a wrong path in life to have a second chance.

I asked Fiona Humphreys, the CEO, to let me know a bit more about the work they do there.

What is the Elizabeth Fry Charity?

The Elizabeth Fry Charity provides support to women, mostly on licence from prison, who have a range of complex needs. Through our work, we help women to begin to address the issues they face, to improve their lives and reduce the likelihood of further offending.

For over 150 years the Elizabeth Fry Charity has provided life-changing support to women offenders, many of whom have had deeply troubled lives. The Charity operates an Approved Premises, a Ministry of Justice funded hostel, which accommodates up to 22 women who are involved in various stages of the criminal justice system. Staff at the Charity aim to empower women to see that they can make positive changes to their lifestyles and move away from offending.

The Charity provides women with a package of support through group work and one to one sessions. Such intervention includes work to address substance misuse, anger management, sexual health, relationships, parenting skills, physical and mental health issues, accommodation, education, training, employment, finance and debt and problem solving skills.

An ex-resident said recently:

“I would describe Elizabeth Fry as a major turning point in my life. If I had gone straight from prison into the world, I would never have made it. I wanted a clean break from my previous life and Elizabeth Fry provided me with that fresh start.”

The Elizabeth Fry Charity receives funding to provide the Approved Premises through it’s contract with the Ministry of Justice. However, we are constantly fundraising in order to be able to enhance the service we provide to the women we work with.

All donations make a difference to the women we are supporting. For example, £10 will fund a basic food parcel for a resident moving on, £30 would pay for a session with our counsellor, £35 would purchase a bedding set for a resident moving on and £42 would fund a one to one session with a Citizen Advice Bureau Adviser and follow up work.

For more information about the work of the Elizabeth Fry Charity, please visit www.elizabethfry.co.uk.

Our Family Fund Raising Camp to support Fiona and the charity is on Mother’s Day – Sunday 26 March at 09:00 in Winnersh at the Bearwood Recreation Ground, RG41 5DU. A good reminder for those of us celebrating that day of how we can easily help the lives of others.

If you like to support our colour theme, a purple teeshirt or hoody will be great for the photos!