Money seized from drug dealers will be given to a charity to offer support to children whose parents have been jailed.
Every month, thousands of pounds are seized from drug dealers who appear for sentence before Liverpool Crown Court. In a scheme established by judges last year, this cash is now being donated to a nominated charity of the month.
And the first beneficiary of 2023 will be PSS, the Liverpool Personal Services Society. The Sandhills-based organisation was formed in the city in 1919 but now works across the country with bases in Cheshire, Manchester, Wales, Birmingham, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
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Forfeited monies will go towards its prisoners' families services. The seized cash will in particular help children who have family members in jail by providing them support and advice as well as experience days.
Harriet Michael-Phillips, PSS' director of operations, said: "The money the court is donating to us is going to help us enhance the work we do with children we support in Merseyside. When you're a child who has a family member in prison, the weight of the situation can be really heavy on you.
"Not only does it often mean your family is working through some incredibly hard circumstances that will inevitably take its toll, but there's also such a stigma around mum or dad being in prison. Lots of children go through life keeping it a secret, because they're worried they'll be judged.
"Carrying this weight inside can have a huge impact - especially on a child's ability to just be a child. When we're supporting the children through their situation and helping them to deal with their emotions, wherever we can, we like to give them opportunities to have fun with other children and experience things they may never have had the chance to experience before - like days at the seaside, visits to the zoo or a trip to see a panto.
"The donation the court is making will help us to do all those things and bring some joy to a child's life. It'll also help us to support families we're working with who are in desperate need.
"When going to see the children we support at home, we often find that they're living without things lots of us take for granted - like a proper bed, curtains in their bedroom or things in the kitchen like a washing machine. If our team see that a family is in need, they will request funds to help the family get the basic things they're so often missing.
"The donation from the courts will also go towards supporting families like these, who need that extra help."
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