More than eight in ten men in prison suffered childhood adversity

From an article by Public Health Wales

Between February and June 2018, a Prisoner ACE Survey was conducted by Public Health Wales and Bangor University using face-to-face interviews with 468 18-69 year old men in HM Prison Parc, Bridgend, South Wales.

More than 8 in 10 (84 per cent) said they had experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) compared with a Welsh average of 46%.

Nearly half of prisoners (46%) reported they had experienced four or more ACEs. This compares to just over 1 in 10 (12%) in the wider population.

The report also found that prisoners with multiple ACEs (four or more) were four times more likely to have spent time in a young offender institution than those with no ACEs.

ACEs are traumatic experiences that occur before the age of 18. They range from child verbal, mental, physical and sexual abuse, to being exposed to alcoholism, drug use and domestic violence at home.

Top reported ACEs:

Parental separation 58%
Verbal abuse 51%
Physical abuse 41%
Domestic violence 40%
Incarceration 33%
Drug abuse 32%
Alcohol abuse 31%
Mental illness 28%
Emotional neglect 19%
Sexual abuse 18%
Physical neglect 12%

Children who experience ACEs are more likely to adopt health-harming and anti-social behaviours as adults, are at much greater risk of poor health throughout life, and may have greater needs for support from healthcare and other public services.

Dr Kat Ford, lead author of the report at Bangor University, said, “Nearly half of prisoners had experienced high levels of ACEs such as abuse, neglect and domestic violence in their childhood – levels much higher than observed in populations outside of prison. Amongst prisoners we found that having spent time in a young offender institution and having a history of prolific offending or violent offences were all linked with even higher levels of ACEs. These relationships add weight to the need for prisons to offer trauma-informed services to help ensure that those with ACEs are appropriately supported and are not re-traumatised when incarcerated.”

Professor Mark Bellis, Director of Policy and International Development for Public Health Wales, commented, “A third of all prisoners surveyed reported one of their adverse childhood experiences was growing up in a household where someone had been incarcerated. These intergenerational cycles can be broken through health and criminal justice systems working together and helping parents provide a safe and nurturing environment for every child.”

Janet Wallsgrove, Director of HMP & YOI Parc, said: "Shining a light on the negative impact of ACEs in later life is crucial as it allows us to provide the right rehabilitative support for the men in our care."

Other findings from the report include that, compared with prisoners with no ACEs, those with four or more were:

Four times more likely to have ever been convicted of criminal damage
Three times more likely to have ever been convicted of violence against the person
Three times more likely to have ever been convicted of theft
Twice as likely to have ever been convicted of drugs offences

Read the full article here.

From an article by Public Health Wales, 02/02/2023

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits from 10am, before the service begins. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

images: Services

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
Livewires (3-7 years)
Encounter (7-11 years)
Katalyst (11-15 years)
Young people (15+ years) Stay in service.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. Whilst you are dropping your kids off at their groups, we pause to take time to chat to someone sitting near or next to us, giving folk a chance to come back before the sermon begins.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Night Shelter
Foodbank

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Leader 1		Leader 2
Leader Intro		Leader Intro

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

(Handwritten Signature)