The Prison Gate Mission- A cup of coffee and a friendly word
Within a few yards of the Charity’s Central Refuge was Strangeways Prison, one of the largest prisons in England with 20,000 prisoners a year discharged according to the 1888 edition of the Charity’s magazine. From September 1887 employees from this Charity and others from Central Hall and the City Mission volunteered every morning between around 7 and 8 o'clock to greet prisoners newly released. An invitation card was given offering a cup of coffee, a simple breakfast of bread and butter and a friendly word at the Mission Room located in one the Charity’s buildings nearby. Annual reports state 10,000 released prisoners a year used the service. From 1902 annual report, volunteers waiting for prisoners Articles in the Charity’s magazine ‘The Christian Worker’ had referred to Prison Gate Missions in other cities which seem to have been the inspiration to begin their own. The Charity’s main concern was to help the younger prisoners. While children were labelled as prisoners, t...
