New research illustrates the difficult lives the families of prisoners lead…but one ministry is doing all it can to help. A survey of families that have a member in jail or prison has found that nearly two-thirds struggle to meet their basic needs, including 50% that are unable to afford sufficient food and adequate housing.
The report found that costs associated with incarceration, like traveling for prison visits, had pushed more than one-third of the families into debt. The focus on the economic hardships endured by families after an arrest is an often overlooked element of the nation’s criminal justice system, where 2.4 million people are in prison or jail — many of them fathers or mothers who were their family’s primary income earners, according to the report. After an inmate’s release, a criminal conviction often means a family loses its ability to live in government-subsidized housing. And former inmates are barred from competing for various federal student grants and loans and have difficulty finding even menial work.
Prison Fellowship is a ministry to those prisoners and their families. On their website they feature the story of Ann Lownin, one of their volunteers to the families of prisoners.