Action for Prisoners' Families (APF) has revealed the Prisoners' Families Helpline, which it manages, has received nearly 17,000 calls in 15 months.
Most callers needed help with maintaining family contact and with navigating the prison system. However, the number of visitors to the Prisoners' Families Helpline website has also rocketed in recent years, rising from 12,350 in 2004 to 43,430 in 2007.
Lucy Gampell, APF director, said: "These are staggering numbers, which indicate the high level of need experienced by prisoners' families. Families and children are left in a state of shock and confusion when someone close to them is sent to jail. Most of them receive no help to guide them through the complex prison system and the psychological, financial and social upheaval that follows the imprisonment of a parent, partner, child or other family member."
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