my brother may go to prison [sad]

[rubymoon]

Hi,

My brother is in court on Friday and may well be sent to prison. I have no idea what to expect or how to help him or his family. Although he did commit a crime he has pleaded guilty and he hurt no - one.

He will loose his job and struggle to get another when he is released. His wife and two smallish children will be left to pay a big mortgage and all bills (she works part time). Will they get any benefits?

I can not help financially and live quite far away. To be honest i have been avoiding dealing with this and have been of little support so far and feel useless.

Five go mad, how horrid for you - did his sister know anything about what he was doing? I hope he one day realises what hes lost and says sorry. I think if there is no genuine remorse then it makes forgiveness hard if not impossible.

tracksuit - I have had to read comments - elsewhere - that my brother is a disgusting thieving scumbag. It makes me feel angry and sad, hopefully his children NEVER read it. You are a good person to stand by your brother, with a bit of support they are far less likely to re-offend - but it is hard!!!! could never discuss this at the school gate!

It is a bit unreal now as he is not in jail yet so it feels like it could all easily go back to normal and we could pretend it never happened. With the jails full at the moment there must be so many people like us out there!

Hello,

I've been reading this and thought of a charity that my church sometimes gets involved with. They're called Angel Tree and look after the families of prisoners.www.angeltree.org/angeltree-home I don't know entirely what they do (we send presents for the prisoners children) but I know the Mothers Union are big fans of them which makes me think they must be good.

I hope that you can just be there for your brother and his family. It's not easy and it doesn't mean you have to agree with what he did, just remember you're his sister.

There is a very good website for people with a loved one in prison. It's called Prison Chat UK www.prisonchatuk.com/

You have to become a member in order to post or read posts.

All the members have someone in prison or going through the court system. Many unfortunately have been dealing with this for several years and they have a huge amount of hard won knowledge of all you are going through both practical and emotional.

Even if you feel it's not for you it might be a lifeline for your sister in law.