Prison Fellowship - SA
C
Winter Edition
June – August 2011
Down To Earth
Families Worker
hildren and Families Worker Sally
Graham has been helping to
restore families for almost three
years this October. A former prisoner
with her own story as told in her book
‘As black from white’, Sally has been
giving hope to many children, their
mothers, fathers and caregivers and this
includes a growing number of grandparents. Our secure database is approaching 400 children of prisoners.
Every opportunity to visit families
with a food hamper or help with school
uniforms, shoes and clothes is the beginning to restoring a family with hope and
support through difficult times.
"All my kids have
different dads. I see
peoples’ looks. I feel
their disapproval.
But I love my kids
and I am trying hard
to give them what
they need. I suppose
I grew up, now I need
to help them to do the
same. I buy what I can
from the pension
but the kids
have to take
turns. Thanks
to Prison
Fellowship for
helping my kids all
have a new pair
of shoes. On that
day they all got a
treat!"
"We never expected our boy would
go to jail. Even at the last court date
I don’t think I really understood what
was happening. After sentence our boy
was moved to YLP. It all seemed so
harsh. I gave Sally a call and it helped to
know some of the things were
just part of the process. It
doesn’t bring him home
but It helps to know
someone cares."
"When my
husband went to
jail money was
so tight for
us that all I
could afford
for the kids
was one set of
clothes each. My
kids were always at
me about how
embarrassed they
were wearing the
same clothes every
day. I could not believe
that you would care so
much. My children have
new clothes and shoes for
winter. Thank you
so much."
"My kids said they were
embarrassed always wearing
the same clothes, I tried my
best to wash them each night
but sometimes it is hard to get
them dry by morning and to put
the heater on costs more money
again. I swapped the boys clothes
so they looked a bit different but of
course they are different sizes. It means
so much to me to go shopping with you
and be able to buy my kids clothes and feel… normal”.
"I was pretty ashamed really to
ask for help and I have had such
a lot of trouble dealing with this
all, since my son was sent to
prison. My husband left me with
the 3 younger boys and I just don’t
know what to do with all my feelings
sometimes. It doesn't help that I can’t
read, but you made me feel less stupid,
you made it ok for a little while and my
boys are proud to have new shoes and
school clothes."
RESTORING
FAMILIES
Sally is now really 'down to earth'
because she has relocated offices from
an upstairs location to a ground floor
location in Salisbury - welcomed by
Salisbury Uniting Church.'
We are extremely grateful for the dedicated funds provided by Morialta Trust which
has allowed Sally to purchase essential items to benefit children of prisoners.
Celebrate good times, come on!
Celebrating Life After Parole
I
t is important to
stop to celebrate
‘the moment’ at
special times in life;
the birth of a child,
graduation, marriage,
anniversary,
special
milestone birthdays
and school, club and
family reunions. Taking time to reflect on what advances have
been made is an attitude of gratitude; checking
out the old photo albums and visiting former
schools, universities and places. For the Christian
it is about seeing what the Lord has done; His
blessings, favour, grace and provision.
Teen Girls go high - to Mt. Lofty
I
t’s not every weekend a young teen
gets to go to new heights with friends
and leaders to learn new things. It’s a
four kilometre return trek to the top of Mt
Lofty and they did it! Flanked by beautiful
bushland scenery along the steep dirt track,
they were easy to spot in their hot pink polo
shirts. Horse riding, a trip to nearby historic
Hahndorf, tasting Indian food for the first
time and making homemade Mexican tacos,
helped the girls have fun and strengthen
relationships formed at the previous Teen
Girls camps. Thanks to CMV Group for their
souvenir pink polo shirt.
The Father of the prodigal knew how to celebrate the return of his long lost son. After all, he
was presumed dead. The best garment, sandals,
ring, fatted calf and party were laid on because
the son who was ‘lost’ was now ‘found’.
In PFSA we focus on milestones of reintegration
into the community; crime free, drug free, taxpaying citizens determined never to return to
crime or prison again. There is a young man who
has spent a large part of his life in various institutions for stealing cars, breaking and entering
and running away from police. Those days are
over. Zinedine has successfully completed his
four year parole period, now married, has a son,
a management traineeship and is surrounded by
two supportive families – his own and his wife’s
plus the wider family of Prison Fellowship SA.
We want to celebrate this important chapter
with him to reaffirm his new life post-parole
which finishes 17 June. Will you join us to celebrate with Zinedine? Come, meet him and hear
his story for yourself.
Next Friends: Saturday 18 June 7pm for 7.30pm
at BCSA 176 Wattle Street Malvern.
It is also the half way mark for the three year
ADRA partnership – let’s celebrate! Come and
hear Andrew Cornell tell us what he’s achieved
in his first 18 months as
Manager Prison Ministry.
Helen Glanville
Executive Director
BRINGING
HOPE
THE WAY Mentoring
S
ince its inception last April The Way
Mentoring Project has been a significant
strategy, instrumental in building relationship and creating a bridge for some of our
families even with their local Church. Wonderful
reports have been received as relationships have
been formed with our young mentees enjoying
the benefits of the mentor relationship.
Our goal was to match 18 young people
(aged12 years plus) with a suitable mentor but
the start was slow as surprisingly mentors found
it difficult to commit in the first few months. We
matched 10 mentors with mentees and these
are ongoing. Reports from mentors back to Sally
Graham helped her care for the families more.
One mum was overwhelmed to receive cooked
meals from a local Church after her operation.
‘Mentoring is a life fulfilling experience for
mentors’ says Sally. With comments like; ‘I got
completely drenched by the water pistol.’ ‘Beaten
in mini golf, every car racing game, and in the
water slide races’. ‘In amongst it all we talked and
RESTORING
FAMILIES
THE
WAY
laughed,
and a young
boy opened
up about his family and life. I am honoured
to be a part of the Prison Fellowship mentor
program - “The Way”’ said one enthusiastic
mentor.
Lack of literacy and changing family circumstances make it difficult for mentoring to work
effectively. As a direct flow on from mentor
feedback families have been assisted with new
sports shoes for children, school uniforms, furniture provided by our ‘Second Chances’ Op Shop,
counseling and sporting program assistance.
From our observations and experience we
need to positively influence them before
they reach their challenging teen years. This
year PFSA will continue to strengthen relationships in particular mentoring 8 – 12 year
olds under the Paving the Way Mentoring
Project which will be a direct continuation of
mentoring for younger children.
SECOND
CHANCES
THE
WAY
Let's celebrate. Come on!
Camp For Kids No. 8
The physical activities of high/low ropes,
giant swing and making a waterproof
crossing presented challenges and taught
them lessons in trust and team work.
Autumn 2011
Big Dinner Celebration
Fellowship Australia
with Jonathan Aitken Prison
30th Anniversary Dinner
I
nternationally
acclaimed author and
humorous after dinner speaker Jonathan Aitken is returning to
Adelaide. He drew over 400 people in 2005 and
we expect to exceed this number in October.
He was a former British Cabinet
Minister and ex-prisoner. Today he
is a broadcaster, columnist, lecturer
and campaigner for world-wide
prison reform. He is the author of
twelve books including the Award
winning biography of President
Nixon (Nixon: A Life) and two
volumes of autobiography Porridge
& Passion and Pride and Perjury.
Jonathan Aitken was a Member of British
Parliament for twenty three years. His ministerial posts included Minister of State for Defence
Procurement and Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Before entering Parliament Jonathan Aitken was a
war correspondent in Viet Nam, the Chairman of a
City of London merchant bank and a
director of several public companies.
He is a Director of Prison Fellowship
International and Caring for
Ex-Offenders. In 2009 he was chair of
Centre for Social Justice’s Study Group
which published an acclaimed report:
Locked Up Potential: A Strategy for
Reforming Prisons and Rehabilitating
Prisoners.
When: Time: Where:
Saturday October 15
6.30pm for 7.00pm
Fogolar Furlan Function Hall
Briars Road, Felixstow
Dinner is a three course meal
Tickets:
$40 pp
Special early bird deal $380 table for 10 people
Jonathan Aitken has visited Australia many times.
He was the author of Land of Fortune: A Study of
the New Australia. In 2007 he was the principal
speaker at the Australian National Prayer Breakfast in
Parliament House, Canberra.
Cards all Round
Thursday before Easter we visited women
at Adelaide Women's Prison blessing them
with an Easter gift of a pack of 12 greeting cards beautifully painted and donated
by local artist Jacqueline Haseldine. These
were gratefully received by all women and
staff as we gave them Easter greetings.
Our Values
Sally Graham and Helen Glanville armed with Easter gifts
2010-11 Annual Report - From Seed to Harvest
Growth can be measured in various
ways - financial, spiritual, emotional and
character growth. Advances were made
last year into uncharted waters; the ADRA
partnership which supports Manager Prison
Ministry and The Way
Mentoring Project funded by Targeted Youth
Grants were two ‘firsts’
for 2010-11 which are ongoing ministry
endeavours. This new look A5 edition
succinctly summarises the highlights of a
66% growth increase during that period.
All growth comes from seeds planted
and many have been planted by our
wonderful donors. We are so grateful for
every donor and sponsor who have participated in supporting programs benefiting children and families of prisoners.
Furniture Warehouse - 17 Donegal Road Lonsdale
If you are setting up a new place or
needing good affordable second hand
furniture we can help
Second Chances is the Op Shop for
Prison Fellowship SA. Monies raised help
children of prisoners to attend Camp for
Kids, Teen Camps, Angel Tree Christmas
and Happy Birthday presents. Call Alan
on 0410665858 for collection/delivery
OR call Di at the shop on 8296 5588
We also receive and sell electrical goods
which are professionally tested and
tagged for safety.
We are Christian.
We are committed to crime prevention through changed lives.
We believe in restorative
justice and second chances.
We are responsive to the needs of prisoners and their families.
We recognise the needs of victims.
We believe in prison reform.
 We are committed to good stewardship.
SA State Council 2011/12
Chairman: Luca Mercorella
Vice Chairman: Pr Dave Hamilton
Secretary: Les Dennis
Treasurer: Kevin Fielke
Members: Bob Brooks, Peter Do
Rev Bill Reddin, Meredith Yates.
BOARD OF REFERENCE:
Rev Rod James, Bob Brooks
STAFF:
Executive Director: Helen Glanville MBA
Pauper’s Funeral for a Prisoner

‘Why bother giving a funeral for a prisoner
who died in custody?' Every life has value to
their Creator no matter their station in life.
Andrew chose to return to SA to deal with
outstanding Court matters. He had served
many years in a Victorian prison, attended
the PFVictoria course Lives in Transition and
was strongly connected by phone and letter to a PF mentor for
the past three years.
There were only five
people at his funeral
all of whom except
Finance Officer: Glenys Bennett
his lawyer, were PFSA staff and volunteers.
Words from PF Victoria volunteers were
read and memories from visiting him in
Mobilong prison were shared by PFSA
Volunteer Chris Johnson. Andrew knew he
was dying as he had an underlying condition of Leukaemia for 13 years. A Christian
funeral is a peaceful farewell and those
who saw him at the viewing said he radiated a strong sense of peace. PFSA worked
with his lawyer unsuccessfully to obtain bail
for him so he would not be handcuffed to
his hospital bed in his final hours. Andrew
is now finally and fully free.
Yes Helen! Here's my gift for changing lives
Here’s my gift of $
for:
Address: Payment details:
Please debit my  Visa
 Mastercard
Sally Graham
Manager Prison Ministry:
Andrew Cornell
Project Officer: Geoff Glanville
Business/Fundraising: Bob Brooks (Vol)
Kid’s Camp Liaison: Les Dennis (Vol)
Second Chances Op Shop:
397 Diagonal Road Sturt SA 5047
8296 5588 / 0410665858
Furniture Warehouse:
17 Donegal Road Lonsdale SA 5160
Donate direct to BSB: 105-148
Acc: 005092540
GPO Box 1636 Adelaide SA 5001
Phone 08 8272 0323
 Wherever most needed  Mentoring  Children  Families
This gift comes from:
Children & Families Worker:
Expiry Date:
 American Express
Email:
sa.office@prisonfellowship.org.au
Web: www.prisonfellowship.org.au/sa
ABN: 85 005 883 161
Postal Address: Name of Cardholder Signature GPO Box 1636 Adelaide SA 5001
 OR, I enclose my cheque/money order payable to Prison Fellowship
If you give a gift electronically please email your postal address to glenys.bennett@prisonfellowship.org.au so we can post your tax deductible receipt. Prison Fellowship Australia is a Public Benevolent Institution.