The Bedford Row Family Project began in 1999. Its main concern was the impact of imprisonment on families and family life. While the life of those making up prison society has received increasing, though still insufficient, attention over the past two decades, it seemed to those who began this Project that the lives and needs of families who had a member in prison were pretty much forgotten. An awareness that families themselves “do time” while their son, brother, father or mother are in prison is beginning to sink in to society’s consciousness. Along with this awareness comes the question about whether family members don’t all suffer a degree of social, material and relational punishment that, while unplanned, may be as unnecessary as it is unjust.

In its examination of policy the emphasis is upon careful description of existing policies affecting the area of concern and a critical questioning of the extent to which these policies are achieving their intended goals. In the focus on the experience of family members concerning the impact of imprisonment upon them the emphasis is on allowing the voices of the individuals to be heard in terms of their own unique content. This is a particularly important section of the Report which contains unique descriptions of individuals’ experiences on either side of the prison boundary. While possibly shocking for those whose daily experiences are at some remove from prison life, it is important that the experiences of individuals are heard and find response. And finally, in the focus on the Bedford Row Family Project, the emphasis is upon a consideration of the adequacy of its resources and the appropriateness of its structures for the growing range of tasks it sets for itself.