Family Support Workers

The family support staff who work on the ground floor of the Jigsaw Visitors Centre give free and impartial advice to families and friends of prisoners, either in person or by phone. We can provide information on various topics such as ID requirements when visiting the prison, ways to keep in touch with a prisoner, sending money and more.

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We are here to support you on the day of your visit, you are welcome to chat to us about any questions or concerns that you have.

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Family Outreach (In, Out and Beyond project)

Jigsaw can help you with the impact of imprisonment on you and your family. We can support you through any practical issues you may have, including housing, health, finances, drugs and alcohol, and we can also offer you access to counselling.

 

If you would like to talk to us about this support, contact Jigsaw and ask to speak to our Family Engagement Worker.

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Family Visits

Family Visits are two hour visits which take place on Friday mornings throughout the year. On visit days Jigsaw organise a craft activity or quiz and some snacks. The prisoner must fill in an application form on the Prisoner Information Desk if he would like you to attend one of these visits.

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Some of these visits are for Parents and Tots and are for prisoners with children aged 0-4. During school holidays we organise family visits for those with school age children. We also organise adult only family visits to give prisoners without children the opportunity to have a two hour visit.

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Storybook Dads

This project allows fathers to record a story on a DVD which will be posted to their child. The recording is edited to add music and sound effects to bring the story to life. This gives them something to remember their parent by during the period of separation. Further information on this project is available at https://www.storybookdads.org.uk/. 

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If a prisoner would like to take part, they should fill in a Storybook Dads application on the prisoner information desk on their wing. Recording sessions are organised by Jigsaw regularly throughout the year.

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Family Forum

Online family forums take place to allow families to speak with one of the Governors of HMP Leeds. Holding these forums online means that families don't need to travel to the prison but can join by downloading the Microsoft Teams app. Speak to a member of Jigsaw staff to find out more about how to attend.

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Counselling Service

The Jigsaw Visitors’ Centre, in partnership with West Yorkshire Community Chaplaincy Project offers a free of charge counselling service to the families of men serving a prison sentence.

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Your counsellor will encourage you to talk in depth about your thoughts, feelings and emotions. The process will help you to find solutions to cope with your situation and see things more clearly and will enable you to achieve greater insight and understanding of yourself. Counselling sessions take place in a safe, confidential and therapeutic space, usually once a week.

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We do not limit the number of times you can meet with your counsellor. The number of sessions will vary from person to person. If you are interested in this service, please contact the Jigsaw Visitors Centre.

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