New Bridge Foundation

The New Bridge Foundation is a charity which works with people in prisons across England and Wales, providing them with a trained volunteer to act as a ‘befriender’ to provide a non-judgemental social connection at a time when they can be most isolated, through a combination of letter-writing and prison visiting. Our service allows people in prison the opportunity to discuss their feelings, hopes, aspirations, fears and reflections on themselves and their past – as well as more social topics. Our volunteers can often be the only person outside of the prison service who the prisoner speaks to with any regularity. We believe that engaging with our service allows people in prison to rebuild fundamental trust in others and skills around self-expression which enable them to go on to access further programmes of support provided by the prison service and other charities. This helps them to progress through the prison system and reengage more positively with society on release. Sign up here to join our volunteer community: