Celia Moore, Dawn Verrall, Alanah Maskell, and Emily Dix, Lauren Horne, Patsy Hunt
National Services
Celia Moore – Call Handler for the Prisoners’ Families Helpline
Celia is a volunteer with the helpline, answering calls from families of prisoners and providing information, guidance and support to all who call while showing compassion and kindness. She has been with the service for just over a year and volunteers on a consistent and regular basis, often going the extra mile to try and get someone the support they need. Celia is a determined person, often staying on after her shift has ended to ensure that her casework is completed. She has a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn more about Pact’s wider strategy and initiatives. Celia recently attended Pact’s Foundation Training sessions to talk about her experiences of being a volunteer and encourage others to get involved with volunteering for the helpline. She really cares about what she does in her role as a volunteer and has offered on numerous occasions to take on extra shifts to help out in any way that she can.
London and the South East
Dawn Verrall – Court Volunteer
Dawn attends court every week to provide emotional and practical support to families going through the court process. She has also built strong relationships with the Witness and Probation Services in order to gain more resources and referrals of clients for Pact. Dawn has been involved with induction days for new court volunteers, has built great relationships with the Court staff in order to make families feel more comfortable and always provides additional information to point families in the direction of external services should they need it. She is always available to support staff and volunteers and communicates constantly, acting as a point of liaison so that Pact staff can build strong relationships with the courts. Dawn motivates other volunteers and shares ideas that have worked well for her on how to support families in order to provide the best possible service.
West Midlands, CFO3 and ETE
Alanah Maskell – CFO Mentor
Alanah is a mentor with the CFO Project, run by Pact with external funding to offer both emotional and practical support to service users with identified support needs. She has been volunteering with the project since November 2021 and has already dedicated over 60 hours to supporting the service user that she has been matched with. Alanah stands out from other volunteers for her dedication, patience and persistence. She has been matched to a service user which has transpired to be a very complicated and heavy case, but Alanah has not given up. She has completed hours of research to gather information and resources that could help her service user with everything from organising housing on his release from prison to finding social groups that he could join in order to integrate with the community. Even though her service user is not always easy to engage, Alanah follows up on each session to monitor his progress and ensure he is getting the best help possible. Beyond this, she has also written professional reports and has shown an interest in gaining experience in other areas of Pact’s services. Alanah shows a real passion to help others and this shines through in her volunteering.
Wales and the South West
Emily Dix, Lauren Horne, Patsy Hunt – Family Services Volunteer, HMP Cardiff
These three volunteers have all made outstanding individual contributions to running family services at HMP Cardiff. They are passionate about the work that they do and are extremely committed to their role. The panel could not choose just one winner out of the three and so the Award will be shared between them. They have each taken on a number of different roles, including offering emotional support for visitors, assisting with the catering service, planning and supporting Family Days at the prison and also taking on casework. They have also taken on relief work, travelling to other prisons in the area that need volunteer assistance whenever they are able to. Below are some individual examples of their outstanding commitment:
- Emily Dix – supported a service user through the befriending service by making weekly phone calls to provide emotional support during a difficult time for this service user and their family.
- Lauren Horne – works specifically with children during Family Days, running play sessions and ensuring that the needs of children are met throughout their visit to their family member in prison.
- Patsy Hunt – supports families during visits to the prison, ensuring that they know the rules of the prison in order for their visit to run smoothly. On one occasion, she advocated for a family who were facing difficulty attending the prison and ensured their visit could go ahead.
North and East Midlands
Helen Colban – Visits/Booking In Volunteer, HMP Gartree (Leicestershire)
Helen has been volunteering for PACT for around 9 years and goes above and beyond the requirements of her role. She supports 4 visit sessions at the prison each week and does so with pride, passion and commitment. She supports both staff and the visitors who come through the door, providing a personal touch which makes people feel supported, valued and welcomed. Helen also supports her fellow volunteers and is committed to providing the best possible service at the prison. She books in visitors, offers emotional and practical support and undertakes any extra administration work where cover is needed. Helen is an amazing person, a special team member and a valuable asset to PACT.