Some members of AFFECT  have experienced for themselves, having a close relative sent to prison. Some of them tell their stories in this book in the hope that it will bring comfort and strength to others. My hope is that these stories will give families the knowledge that they are not alone.

I have visited families where the windows are nailed shut, letter boxes blocked up to avoid flaming rags or dog excrement being thrown in. Families have been spat at, publicly reviled. A mother will look at her newborn baby and dream that one day he/she will be a doctor, an Olympic athlete, a mechanic like his father; no mother cradles that tiny scrap of life and thinks one day he will be a murderer, a rapist or a paedophile. It is not only parents who feel this terrible pain, there are siblings, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins, all get drawn into the net of horror and loss. The ripple effect can be enormous and pass down the generations. All these persons may be viewed as the “Scum of the Earth.” The only “crime” that the families have committed is to be related to someone that the public has labelled “a monster”. Love does not end when a person gets into trouble; this is the time when true, unconditional love shines through. This is NOT condoning the crime.

Statistics show that where a family stands by their “wrong doer” that he or she is far more likely to “go straight” on release than those where there is no family waiting for them. Not everyone can standby their “wrong doer” there is no shame in this and there should be no guilt.

“Criminals” come from ordinary families from the richest to the poorest in the land. Many have been loved and cared for in childhood but through weakness, peer pressures etc have been led along their terrible path. If only we could answer the question, “WHY” our prisons would be empty.

Names and places have been changed to protect anonymity but the stories are true. The authors of this book are those who have been courageous enough to put their trauma into words, words of hope, words of compassion and of words of bravery. Many tears were shed in the writing of this book. Scraps of writing on screwed up pieces of paper; backs of envelopes have been pieced together. It has taken truly great courage for some families to be prepared to have their stories told. Not all were able to do this.

Remember you are not alone;

you will survive.