Befriending Foreign Nationals

When you don't speak the language and you can't share the culture, a prison sentence can be a double punishment. All prisoners feel isolated but foreign nationals feel more isolated than most. They can't easily communicate with prison staff or other inmates. Family visits are rare. Television and radio are hard to access. And home is far away.

New Bridge's response has been to offer a befriending service tailored to the needs of foreign national prisoners. HMP The Verne in Dorset holds around 300 foreign national prisoners from more than 50 countries. Our volunteers support prisoners by providing an advice surgery, six-weekly social and cultural group meetings, arranged consular and weekly domestic visits as well as offering friendship and support. Importantly they also offer interpretation and translation, and have tried to promote racial awareness and understanding within the prison.

Our experience of working in HMP The Verne and HMP Winchester has shown that foreign nationals often benefit from assistance to understand the legal and prison systems and their own sentence as well as Customs and Immigration issues. Contact and communication in their own language is beneficial not only on a social level but also in order to deal with practical issues such as hospital visits, locating property lost in transit or at arrest, contacting their consulates.

Volunteers can also bring books, magazines and videos in the prisoners own language or linked to their own culture or religion, and provide information about other support agencies.

New Bridge always needs new volunteers who are able to speak another language - principally Spanish and some African languages. If you are interested and would like more information please contact the Regional Manager at our South West Regional Office.