Sam Worrall is a Criminal Justice Policy Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers, and project lead for ‘Trapped in the Turnstile’. Friends, Families and Travellers is a national charity seeking to end racism and discrimination against Romany Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller, and Traveller communities.

Engaging with communities

In February this year, Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) published a landmark report following Trapped in the Turnstile, a two year-project supported by the Barrow Cadbury Trust's T2A programme.

Over the course of 24 months, we worked with young Romany Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller people to better explore community thoughts and experiences of the criminal justice system.

The majority of our engagement took place across 19 prisons throughout England, in all different categories of prison in HMP estate, and engaging with over 90 people of all ages from Romany Gypsy, Roma or Irish Traveller communities.

Throughout the conversations and discussions, inside and outside the estates and communities, between ages and across localities, one single thing came up time and time again: forums, events, get-togethers, and Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month (GRTHM)–“There aren’t enough.”

Making a positive difference

There were many prisons where good practice was easily identified, with successful, regular engagement, but the majority of community members we engaged with felt very little was done in their current prison to highlight and celebrate GRTHM, especially when compared with other ‘community month’ events.

Humans are highly social - it doesn’t take extensive research to appreciate that social activities can make us feel good. Being able to join with peers and celebrate GRTHM can be hugely important towards improving prisoner wellbeing thanks to the mental boost and sense of connection and affirmation it can give.

Some people spoke highly of prison staff and workers who ‘bent over backwards’ to run events where they could share food cooked from traditional recipes, watch DVDs about Appleby Fair, listen to traditional music, or even have guest speakers in to talk and bring resources.

There was no shortage of activities that we were told would be make a positive difference: flying a Roma flag; placing posters around the prison; or developing a forum where community members could have a tea, a cake, and a chat with their peers.

Engaging with GRT History Month

Promoting and taking part in GRTHM can act as a training opportunity for prison staff. There are lots of resources and materials available online to help staff learn about the histories, heritages and cultures of Gypsy, Roma or Traveller communities. All of which can support inclusivity, a better understanding, and ultimately better engagement and trust.

It’s a great subject to come up with a theme for a forum, co-developed with the community members, and even use it as an opportunity to create artwork to display around the prison, like the one below that was made by a group in a Dorset prison last year.

FFT’s theme for GRTHM 2025 is: Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Heroes Month – Who inspires you? We host an art competition that is open for prisoners to enter, with the chance to win book tokens for prison libraries or community forums. Find out what the prisoners would like to do to celebrate and drop us a line if you are looking for resources or ideas. Our resources for this and previous years are also available here.

Sam Worrall

Criminal Justice Policy Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers