VOL Without Invisible Victims: support for children and families affected by imprisonment

VOLONTÉ is developing the project VOL Without Invisible Victims (VOL Bez neviditelných obětí), which connects work with imprisoned parents, their children and professionals. The aim is to strengthen parenting competences, mitigate the impact of imprisonment on children’s lives and create a safe space for meetings, education and practical support.

What has been achieved (05–11/2025)

• Launch of community work in Rýnovice Prison – the group is led by Tina Chlupáčová and Květa Jakubalová; topics include parenting, partnerships and self-development.

• Two talks at the Children’s Home Klánovice (16/09/2025 and 30/09/2025) on the topic of addiction; lecturer: Mgr. Lukáš Verner. Attendance at the second talk was roughly the same as at the first one.

• “Weekend of Joy” for children from the Children’s Home Semily (26–28/09/2025) – 11 children; the programme included work with horses, creative workshops, elements of financial literacy, prevention of risky behaviour, a singing lesson with recording and a programme by the Police of the Czech Republic – Semily.

• Professional workshop in Světlá nad Sázavou Prison (23/10/2025) on the topic “What we miss the most” – meeting of representatives of the prison and institutions/organisations (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, child protection authorities, the Federation of Children’s Homes, representatives of children’s homes, the association Občankáři, the Office of the Public Defender of Rights, etc.).

• Workshop in Pardubice Prison (06/11/2025) for imprisoned fathers – 7 participants; topics included the needs of children of imprisoned parents, age-appropriate communication and stabilisation of family relationships.

• Ongoing workshops with prisoners – personal work, self-development, life values.

Children’s days in December 2025

In December 2025, three children’s days took place within the project:

• Jiřice Prison – 06/12/2025

• Rýnovice Prison – 13/12/2025

• Pardubice Prison – 21/12/2025

These events built on long-term work with families and focused on supporting contact between children and parents in prison, in a safe and structured environment.

Why we do this

The project systematically connects three lines of support:

1. community work with imprisoned parents,

2. educational and preventive activities for children and professionals,

3. targeted interventions (workshops, meetings, joint events) that help maintain and strengthen family bonds despite the constraints associated with imprisonment.

Related outputs

News, articles and other outputs from the project VOL Without Invisible Victims are continuously published on the VOLONTÉ blog in a dedicated category:

👉 https://www.volonte.cz/blog/categories/vol-bez-neviditeln%C3%BDch-ob%C4%9Bt%C3%AD

Project information

Registration number: CZ.03.02.02/00/24_066/0004673

Implementation period: 1 May 2025 – 31 October 2027

Content guarantor: Tina Chlupáčová

The project VOL Without Invisible Victims (VOL Bez neviditelných obětí, Reg. No. CZ.03.02.02/00/24_066/0004673) is implemented through the Employment Plus Operational Programme and co-funded by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic. The project is co-funded by the European Union.