Together4Bristol : Spring Update from Sixty-One

Spring Update from Sixty-One

The nature of good mental health...

There's a bit of a nature theme to this Sixty-One Spring Update. With ‘No-Mow May’ in full-swing, we’ve all been encouraged to put away our lawn-mowers for the month of May to encourage wild plants and flowers to grow, to increase the health and diversity of our lawns, parklands and verges and to feed the bees, butterflies and other pollinators throughout the summer (more on that to follow!).

This week is also ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’, helping people to understand and prioritise their own and others' mental health. It’s well documented that movement and nature are crucial for our mental and physical well-being, boosting our mood and helping us to cope with stress.

So, what then of our prison population, where overcrowding means that hundreds of prisoners are still being confined to their cells for up to 23 hours a day? Many are forced to share prison cells designed for one person – without any windows – and are allowed out for as little as an hour each day.

General prison stats vary on mental health in prisons, however, most studies suggest that between 50% and 80% of prisoners experience mental ill-health.

In this update, I wanted to share with you the various ways that Sixty-One, in partnership with our incredible volunteers and partners, is working to support people in prison with wellbeing and longer term support on release.

- Elizabeth, CEO Sixty-One

The Bees Project at HMP Bristol

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Did you know that there are now several Beehives at HMP Bristol?

Osien Sibanda is one of Sixty-One’s amazing partners. A pastor, teacher, author, mentor and leader, Osien now adds ‘Resident Beekeeper’ at HMP Bristol to his many roles!

Passionate to see men restored, equipped and empowered, Osien has taught the Constructive Masculinity Course at HMP Bristol for 8 years. The course helps men to make sense of their past, understand where they are in life at the moment, and to make plans for a positive future.

As well as incorporating a practical session on harmony into the masculinity course using the beehives as an illustration, Osien now teaches the principles of beekeeping to residents at HMP Bristol. Osien shares with us below just want an impact the Bees Project is making at HMP Bristol:

“Beehives contribute to the preservation of the environment and increase pollinators for the benefit of the planet and mankind in the form of bi-products of bees and honey. Bees also connect people and get them talking as they watch in wonder what bees can do! You can work with your bees and watch then come in and out of the hives humming sweet melodies coupled with wiggles and dances only understood by bees. Bees are neutral and very inspirational in teamwork, tolerance, harmony, diligence, productivity and hard work. They also teach respect in a very practical way as they will sting you if you get out of hand!”

There are many skills that the residents at HMP Bristol can learn through the beekeeping course:

“Forward planning, marketing, teamwork and collaboration can all be learnt through the bees, along with gentleness and tenderness as the bees can be very delicate. The men learn about plants and flowers as well as processing different bi-products from the bees such as wax and candle making, making mead, raising bees and queen bees as well as assembling and designing new beehives.”

As well as being a great contributor to good mental health, wellbeing and learning inside the prison, beekeeping also gives the men the option of an additional income on release from prison:

“They can set up a beekeeping venture where they can produce and sell honey, pollen, propolis, wax, bees, beekeeping equipment, queen bees. This is a substitute to selling drugs as there is a lot to sell safely in the beekeeping industry. There is a lot of passive income to be made, as well as connecting with very loving people.”

22 men at HMP Bristol have already received certificates in the Basic Principles of Beekeeping this year, another 24 are currently on the course and there are another 34 on the waiting list. The honey harvested from the hives has been used in the prison kitchens, and distributed around the prison.

The ‘Bees Project’ is run by HMP Bristol Chaplaincy and Osien in collaboration with Sixty-One.
For more information, please contact info a_t sixty-one d_o_t org

The Easter Gift Project

You are not forgotten

This was our second year running the Easter Gift Project at Eastwood Park Women’s Prison. Over the Easter weekend, with the generous support of our community, Sixty-One provided 400 Easter Gift Packs (containing Mini Eggs, stained-glass window decorations for colouring, pens, a lip salve, biscuits, and a signed Easter card) to every resident at Eastwood Park. A hamper of goodies was provided for any visiting children and each of the women also received a booklet about Biblical Hope and information about mentoring.

“It certainly put a smile on our faces!” - a serving prisoner

“Thank you for the gifts and not forgetting us!” - a serving prisoner

The week following the gift project, the cells were filled with the now brightly coloured-in stained-glass window decorations depicting spring flowers. For one resident, the stained-glass windows were a reminder to her of the garden she used to have:

“Due to having to share a cell, myself and my cellmate have four of the stained-glass pictures to colour in! Tulips, lilies and snowdrops – Beautiful spring flowers. I used to like doing the gardening back home.”

The garden, now lost, had been a source of much needed relief:

“I certainly found so much beneficial time doing the garden - bad moods – the brambles got cut back or the slugs hunted, good moods created by seedlings growing and flowers blooming and craziness created by running away from the bees! Garden therapy works wonders! Trying to find the positives of a negative situation, all those flowers will help the planet! … Sixty-One has given this prison a ray of sunshine today.” - A serving prisoner

These small gifts brought great joy and are a reminder to the women that they are not forgotten and that support is available.

For more information about the Easter Gift Project or if you would like to be involved in supporting next year’s project, please contact info@sixty-one.org.

Spring Celebration Event

"The work you are doing is absolutely what is needed. It is clear that the mentoring programme is having a huge impact."- Richard Pendlebury - High Sheriff of Bristol

At the end of April, 50 of our mentors, mentees and team joined us for our 6th Spring Celebration event! An opportunity to gather together, enjoy food and celebrate the achievements of our mentors and mentees, these events are so important for our mentoring community.

For many attendees, simply attending a social event like this can be a real cause of anxiety. “How will I be received?”, “What if I’m asked any awkward questions?” can all be thoughts that can prevent someone from seeking out new social environments following time in prison. A warm welcome and healthy connection are guaranteed at MentorMe celebration events, as well as lots of fun. They can also lead to increased confidence in other social situations.

We were delighted to have been joined for the evening by Richard Pendlebury, High Sheriff of Bristol, and to hear from him as he spoke on ‘transformation.’ There was even an opportunity for people to get their hands in some soil and plant some flower seeds to take away with them to (hopefully!) watch grow at home.

MentorMe Training

Good relationships are crucial to our mental health. Having someone who believes in you and who is willing to walk alongside you to help you to achieve your goals makes all the difference.

In fact, for people who engage with a MentorMe Mentor, it makes a 95% difference to UK reoffending rates and a saving to the tax-payer of 2.6 million - that's quite a difference!

Studies show that simply talking and sharing with someone we trust can be profoundly healing—reducing stress, reducing physical and emotional distress and even strengthening our immune system!

This weekend, a new cohort of 10 MentorMe trainees are about to begin our Spring training to go on to mentor people with a conviction. They will be covering topics such as ‘The Grow Model,’ how change happens, what it means to listen, why boundaries are important, the effective use of questions, why empowerment is key, goal setting and the mentoring journey all within the context of people who have been through the Criminal Justice System.

Want to find out more? There will be another round of training in the Autumn – please contact info@sixty-one.org for more information.

Please Pray

Please pray for the mental health of our prison population and mentees

Please pray for The Bees Project, Constructive Masculinity course and Sixty-One’s partner community Hubs as they create opportunities for learning, connection and improved mental health

Please pray for those attending our training course this weekend as they give their time to learning about how to support people who have been to prison

Please pray for our mentors as they commit their time week-in and week-out to supporting people with a conviction.

Please pray for our team, as they connect with people in each of our local prisons

_{Posted: May 2024}