A mum who was able to send Christmas presents to her children from prison says it gave them hope that “mummy was going to be alright”.
Theresa John was jailed in the summer of 2012 and was worried she would not be able to give her children any gifts over the festive season.
So when she spotted a notice about Angel Tree - a project that enables parents in prison to send their children gifts and cards - she was delighted.
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The 37-year-old, who works in Manchester, says the scheme helps to ‘humanise’ people again by acknowledging that they are still parents no matter what their mistakes are.
“They’re still mothers. They’re still fathers. They still have hearts,” she says.
Theresa was sentenced to 10 months at HM Prison Holloway for actual bodily harm and burglary.
As the holidays approached, she was able to send her daughter, who lives with her mother, and her sons, who live with her sister-in-law, Christmas presents.
“It was a real seed of love and reconciliation. It began a process in me and also in my children,” she told the PA news agency.
“It gave them hope that mummy was going to be alright… it gave them hope that things would change and that they would see me again.”
The Angel Tree programme - which is organised by the Prison Fellowship charity - was first founded in the US nearly 40 years ago and got picked up by its first English prison in 1994.
Since then, the scheme has delivered thousands of Christmas presents to children with parents in prison across the country – and aims to deliver more than 5,000 this year from 99 out of 117 prisons in England and Wales.
Theresa now works as a manager at a community grocery store in Manchester and sees her children whenever she can.
She has praised the work of Angel Tree for making a huge difference to her children’s lives.
“I remember walking through the landing and seeing this sign on the notice board that said about the Angel Tree programme,” she says.
Inmates are then allowed to fill out an application form where they can detail what they want to give to their children and what to write in the card.
After necessary security checks, the presents are bought, wrapped, and sent on behalf of the parent.
“(I sent) one of my sons a tennis racket (and) the other one had a football. And then my daughter had some writing and art (supplies),” Theresa says.
“It restored hope back in me as a mother. What Angel Tree does is give us a sense of identity back as parents, as people, as human beings.
“The prison system can often dehumanise people but (Angel Tree) humanises people again – it makes people acknowledge that these men and women in prison may have made bad choices and taken wrong directions, but they’re still parents.”
Prison Fellowship’s head of fundraising and communications, Andy Prescott, said “just one small gift can change a family forever”.
“It’s a bit of a cliche, but you hear what I’m saying… it’s not a golden bullet, but it can play a big part in stopping someone in prison from reoffending,” he says..
“One of the things that will prevent reoffending is having strong family relationships… if you’re thinking about your wife and your kids, that’s quite a powerful thing to stop you from going back along those roads where you’ve been before.
“There are many stories around family relationships being restored (too), because a present arrives at Christmas and then the child wants to talk to their dad or go and visit their dad in prison.”
So far this year, Angel Tree has raised more than £100,000 in donations.
The most popular gift requests include fidget spinners, LOL dolls, Peppa Pig toys, and Lego.
“Angel Tree has an incredible impact,” Mr Prescott added.
You can donate to Angel Tree’s programme here: www.prisonfellowship.org.uk/our-work/angel-tree/
