Nepacs

05/06/2026

📣CALLING ALL EMPLOYEES, TRUSTEES OR VOLUNTEERS WORKING IN A VOLUNTARY OR COMMUNITY GROUP OR ORGANISATION IN SOUTH TYNESIDE!

You are invited to book on this FREE training we are delivering in South Tyneside during June:

🔵 Trauma Informed Awareness Training 9 June 1-3:30pm

🔵 Hidden Sentence Awareness Training 18 June 1-3:30pm - understanding the impact of imprisonment and the justice system on children and families

This training is particularly useful for anyone who works with children and families or individuals involved in the justice system (from the point of arrest, at court or in custody).

🔵 Volunteers with Criminal Justice Experience Training 30th June 1-3:30pm
For all groups or organisations recruiting volunteers with lived experience of the justice system

All of the above training, which is fully funded by Inspire South Tyneside will take place at Ocean Road Community Centre.

TO BOOK OR FIND OUT MORE VISIT: https://book.plinth.org.uk/calendar/8dQfF9APZHq0DWOWoleP

04/06/2026

Over the past week, during the half term holidays, our teams and visiting families have been celebrating a range of special family days at north east prisons.

This included:

🌹 At HMP Deerbolt the children and families created a range of paper and crepe flowers

🐲 At HMP Holme House the theme for their family day was fantasy and the activities on offer included creating wish bottles, crowns, fire breathing dragons, shields and fairy doors.

🏰 At HMP Durham the family days had a magical kingdom theme - activities included a treasure hunt around the hall with chocolate gold coins as the prize and craft activities included pirate/princess masks, fairy castle making, wooden pirate ships and magic kingdom silhouettes.

Some of the families who attended the family days at HMPs Deerbolt and Durham told us:
🔹“Carolyn, Linda and Lesley are top of the pops.”
🔹“Thank you for lovely visit again. Can’t wait for the next.”
🔹“Fantastic family visits, great activities and wonderful staff.”
🔹 “Great staff as always. Providing snacks and fun and always checking everything is ok. Thank you we appreciate you all.”
🔹 "Amazing as always, lots of crafts and different entertainment for the kids"

These special family days provide opportunities for children and families to spend quality time together, create positive and lasting memories, and help maintain family bonds when a family member is in prison.

CAN YOU HELP US OUT? We are running an appeal to raise funds for our play areas and special family days at all north east prisons. If you feel you can help us out please donate at https://nepacs.enthuse.com/cf/support-for-children-with-a-loved-one-in-prison Or get in touch with our teams if you have art, craft or other materials you wish to donate.

Thank you!

03/06/2026

Last year our Independent Visitor volunteers offered support and friendship to 59 young people living in care in the north east - through a total of 255 visits.

For Jess, one of our Independent Visitor volunteers, has shared her perspective on a recent visit with the young person she supports.

The difference these visits and their support and friendship makes is massive for the young people. And as you can see from the quote, our volunteers also find it extremely rewarding and life changing.

By building relationships with young people, fostering a sense of belonging, reducing social isolation, and providing a safe space for young people to talk and offering guidance, independent visitors can contribute to their wellbeing.
Independent visitors can help young people connect with local resources and activities, building a sense of community and belonging.

Find out more about becoming an Independent Visitor here https://www.nepacs.co.uk/page/independent-visitor-services or email [email protected]

02/06/2026

For National Volunteers Week we have asked some of our volunteers to tell us why they volunteer for Nepacs.

Naomi started volunteering with our visits team at HMP Low Newton (women's prison) in Durham around two months ago and told us that: "Volunteering at HMP Low Newton has been a rewarding opportunity to support others and make a positive difference through compassion and understanding."

Our visits teams, in all 7 north east prisons, are looking for volunteers to help provide visits services, work in our tea bars or support children and young people in our play areas or during family days.

If you are interested in volunteering with any of our visitor centre teams please check out our website for details and the application form, or contact [email protected]

01/06/2026

As we kick off we want to thank all of our volunteers for the time, care, energy, and compassion you give to our charity. Quite simply, we could not do what we do without you.

Whether you give a few hours occasionally or support us regularly, every contribution matters.

Your kindness, commitment, and willingness to help others makes a real difference to the people and communities we support every single day.

Volunteering is one of the most generous things a person can give — your time. We never take that for granted.

You bring not only practical help, but warmth, encouragement, positivity, and humanity to our organisation. You help create the welcoming and supportive environment that so many people rely on, and you are a huge part of what makes our charity so special.

On behalf of everyone at Nepacs, and everyone whose lives you touch through your volunteering, thank you.

Interested in and joining our team? Visit www.nepacs.co.uk or email [email protected]

30/05/2026

We would like to say a big thank you to Allison Potter at the National Literacy Trust in Middlesbrough for the kind donation of books for children who attended the special family visit which took place at HMP Holme House prison during half term.

The children and their families were able to enjoy reading the books together, and the children were able to take a book home as a tangible reminder of a good time spent with their parent or relative in prison.

If you would like to support our family days and our work with children and young people please get involved with our fundraising appeal here: https://nepacs.enthuse.com/cf/support-for-children-with-a-loved-one-in-prison

Thank you!

29/05/2026

Our Nepacs Annual General Meeting is taking place on Monday 29 June 2026 at 5pm via Zoom.

The programme will include the launch of our annual review for 2024/25 and a presentation by our CEO Amanda Lacey.

If you would to attend please get in touch with [email protected] to receive the papers and Zoom details.

29/05/2026

We are excited to be collating with Inspire South Tyneside to deliver some valuable training to the South Tyneside VCSE sector.

We have three training sessions to offer across June;

🔵 Trauma Informed Awareness Training 9th June 1-3:30pm
https://lnkd.in/eB5CUWPK

🔵 Hidden Sentence Awareness Training 18th June 1-3:30pm
https://lnkd.in/enupMU8F

🔵 Volunteers with Criminal Justice Experience Training 30th June 1-3:30pm
https://lnkd.in/ejxKMMty

These sessions are particularly useful if you work with volunteers who may have experience of the justice system, or support children and families impacted by imprisonment of a family member or friend.

All of the above training, which is fully funded, will take place at Ocean Road Community Centre.

You must be a VCSE organisation in South Tyneside to attend.

Inspire is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in South Tyneside.

28/05/2026

Our next lottery draw is this Saturday 30 May - giving our supporters the chance to get involved in fundraising for Nepacs.

To be in with a chance to win visit: https://www.givinglottery.org.uk/support/nepacs



• Tickets cost just £1 a week
• You could win up to £25,000 in the weekly prize draws
And you can also be entered into the super draw to be in with a chance to win a £1,000 Ikea gift card or £1000 cash prize.

Thank you for your support.

26/05/2026

At our family learning visit at HMP Durham on Friday evening the children and their family members unleashed their creativity, building these stunning birdhouses for the new visitor centre garden, and indulged in a variety of garden-themed activities that sparked imagination, including a flower scavenger hunt, vase decorating, butterfly weaving, and insect dot to dots.

Families who attended told us:

"We really appreciate everything you do for us and our families."
"My kids love coming to these sessions, they really are special"

If you would like to lend a helping hand, we are appealing for donations to help us provide toys, games, books and activities to help make these visits fun and enjoyable - helping to create positive memories of their time visiting their loved one. https://nepacs.enthuse.com/cf/support-for-children-with-a-loved-one-in-prison