We are here for children:

• Do you have a mom or dad in prison and don't know what to do about it?
• Do you face teasing at school because someone close to you is in prison?
• Are you afraid or worried about how to manage everything without a parent who is in prison?
• Are you afraid or worried about what will happen when mom or dad returns from prison?
• Do you not know what to write in letters to prison or what to talk about during visits?

Why was LINKA PRISON created?​

In the years 2022-2023, we began to notice, within the orders of our clients, an interest in a type of service focused on immediate crisis assistance, independent of the service background, oriented towards supporting the client in connection with the field of imprisonment and serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty, as part of the social services we provide.

Since 2023, we have focused on statistical monitoring of this demand and tracked the number of clients with this type of order in all our branches with registered social services throughout the Czech Republic.

Furthermore, in the creation of LINKA PRISON, we relied mainly on:

1) Conclusions from the results of the research project of FSS MU and TAČR, Assoc. Prof. Navrátil and Dr. Navrátilová "Parenthood behind bars" (final report of project TL 03000199 solved in the period 5/2020-12/2023), "Crisis situations related to a parent's imprisonment through the eyes of a child", Brno 2024

• In the Czech Republic, there are a total of 40,000 children who have at least one parent serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty.
• The risk of trauma associated with imprisonment occurs in three-quarters of children over 12 years old.
• The imprisonment of one parent affects the whole family. The consequences of imprisonment manifest in a way that other family members withdraw, stop communicating with the public, in some cases there is relocation and refusal to socialize with other people. The family loses a source of income.
• The research builds on foreign studies that demonstrate that there is a 6-8 times higher probability that children of imprisoned parents, who do not receive professional intervention and support, will also end up serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty, compared to the rest of the population.
• The research of FSS MU comes to a clear conclusion that it is absolutely essential to provide professional intervention to children of imprisoned parents and other family members.
• The mentioned research also pointed out that 63% of children over 12 years old are afraid of the return of a parent from serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty.

2) Conclusions of the investigation conducted by the OIKIA association within the professional and therapeutic activities among inmates serving long-term sentences in high-security prisons in the years 2023 - 2024

• 73% of the convicted individuals who attended therapeutic sessions or counseling interviews in prisons expressed concern about how the rest of their families were coping with their situation.
• These concerns stemmed from the content of correspondence, phone calls, and visits with family members.

3) Experiences of social workers

• PhDr. Pavel Pěnkava, Ph.D., chairman of the social workers section of the Czech Social Workers Society, expressed support for the necessity of the PRISON Line project based on experiences with social counseling provided to clients after release from imprisonment.

4) Experiences from the implementation of a similar service abroad – "Prisoners' families helpline"

• This confidential telephone and email support line for families of incarcerated individuals provides confidential support, crisis intervention, and counseling for family members, including children of convicts in England and Wales.
• The operated support line, with its interventions, becomes a crucial tool in supporting families of incarcerated individuals www.prisonersfamilies.org

5) Experiences from the implementation of the "Families outside" service – Scotland

• It supports families affected by the imprisonment of one of their members through a telephone and email helpline www.familiesoutside.org.uk

6) Research study on intergenerational ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) continuity among a sample of prisoners in Wales

• The research was conducted among 294 convicted men serving sentences in Wales and 671 of their children.
• Without preventive supportive interventions for family members of convicts, the likelihood of transferring intergenerational ACE continuity increases www.sciencedirect.com

The result of identifying clients' needs is the PRISON Line, a social service providing telephone crisis assistance.