Quaker Ministries in Northern Ireland - Quaker Service - Part 3 . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV


Quaker Service sign

Wednesday, July 31st - We visited the Monica Barritt Visitors' Centre at Maghaberry Prison.



Children's playroom

When we first arrived we had a few minutes to look around the Visitors' Centre and then we went and sat down with several staff members and learned about the services offered and some of the obstacles that they face over tea and biscuits. We then went over to the building next door that houses the Quaker Connections programme.

The Visitors' Centre is located in the car park, approximately 400 yards from the main entrance to the prison. The Centre supports the families and friends of prisoners, when they come to visit, providing a range of services within it's safe, friendly and non-judgmental environment - a place where all are made to feel welcome. The Visitors' Centre works in partnership with the Northern Ireland Prison Service and other agencies.



Kitchen

Services provided in the Visitor's Centre include: information and advice, family induction, non-directive counseling, advocacy, café and tea bar, child care, shuttle bus to the prison and also from the local bus station to the Visitors' Centre.  Other services provided include child centred visits and family focus weeks within the prison.
 



Display in Quaker Connections area

Quaker Connections is a new volunteer programme based at Maghaberry Prison. It provides further support to those in custody and their families. There are various volunteer opportunities available with Quaker Connections. One can volunteer to be a member of the befriending team for isolated inmates, those inmates who don't have any visitors, or the family support team. They also have opportunities to work with their Alternatives to Violence Project and children's work.

Some of the staff

I was concerned to hear that the inmates are given the first and last name of the volunteer that has befriended them. I can understand that the Quaker Connections staff needs the full name of the volunteers and the Prison staff - to run background checks, but the inmates, no. We were told that the inmates have to know the name of their visitors, as they have the right to refuse to see them. OK, makes sense, but if the inmate knows that 'John' is their befriender, isn't that enough? My concern for this was strong, as we had heard several times that one who knows Irish names can tell by your last name where you're from - what community you live in . . . do I really want an inmate to know that??? When we got ready to leave, the woman we had been talking to about the Quaker Connections programme said I really had her thinking about this now . . . So, will that piece of this programme change because of what I said? If the policy is changed, so that the inmates will only know the befrienders first name, will that then bring more volunteers in to this programme? Maybe.



Lunch - soup, sandwiches,
drinks and cake

Quaker Service and the programmes it provides is just an amazing blessing, not just to those that they serve but to the staff and also to those that they share it with.

After visiting these different programmes and they are different, I came away feeling extremely uplifted and blessed.


Wondering . . . what is it that can be take away from all of this? Is there some piece, or pieces of any of this that can be taken away and used here? In the US? Elsewhere in the world? What is it about this/these ministries, Quaker ministries that speak to you?