Una Padel Award: Highly commended 2007 Organisational category
The Prison Phoenix Trust
Website: www.prisonphoenixtrust.org.uk
Email:
Tel: 01865 512521
This project is a charity set up in 1988. They offer help to over 5000 stressed, angry and often depressed prisoners through the disciplines of meditation and yoga, silence and breathing exercises. The charity train and support qualified yoga teachers who run 150 weekly sessions in 84 prisons across the UK, including 30 weekly sessions for prison staff. They are able to reach and encourage prisoners to practice the teachings of yoga and meditation through correspondence, free resource books and CDs and a quarterly newsletter which is written almost entirely by prisoners. Recognising that many prisoners have literacy problems, they also have resource books specially written for prisoners with basic literacy level 1.
All of the practices and techniques taught take into consideration the environment in which the prisoners spend their time, and encourage prisoners to spend some time in the day practicing in their own cells. For many this is their first positive learning experience in a group. As this programme has been accredited by the Open College Network and included in the Prison Service Physical Education Programme many prisoners have received formal accreditation by taking part.
Click here for winner of the organisational category.
Click on the links for more information about Sue Pearce, Councillor within HMP Low Newton or Emma Hunter, The Community Passport Project, Polmont YOI Scotland both highly commended in the individual category.