Free family law advice offered to help connect mothers with their children
One Small Thing (OST) and Not Beyond Redemption (NBR) have announced a pioneering partnership to provide free family law advice and representation to mothers living in the community who are in contact with the justice system at OST’s Hope Street Hampshire project.
The partnership aims to help women connect with their children and offers support to navigate complex family proceedings during and after contact with the justice system. It responds to a significant gap in support for mothers who are often ineligible for Legal Aid in private children law matters and face major barriers to representing themselves in family court.
With around 17,000 children a year impacted by maternal imprisonment, and 95% of children leaving the family home when a mother is held in custody, we know maintaining contact between mums and their children can be challenging with temporary arrangements in place. Yet these relationships are critical to the wellbeing and recovery of both mother and child. Hope Street has so far provided a home for 7 mums together with 8 children and an additional 50 mums with children under 18 who were living separately.
Through in-person clinics at Hope Street, trained solicitors will provide advice to help women understand their rights, navigate the legal system, pursue contact where appropriate, as well as offering legal representation.
The clinics build on NBR’s existing work offering support to mothers in all twelve women’s prisons in England - and strengthen Hope Street’s trauma-informed model. It is the first time NBR has offered support to women in contact with the justice system who are living in a residential alternative to custody in the community.
Mothers at OST’s Hope Street Hampshire project describe how distressing it is to be separated from their children and how heavily this impacts on their own mental health and recovery. A lack of stable accommodation for women involved in the justice system can make it even harder for mothers to maintain meaningful contact with their children - therefore making it more likely women will fall into a cycle of re‑offending.
Supporting healthy relationships is central to OST’s specialist trauma-informed support for women at Hope Street with positive ripple effects benefitting children and their families.
OST CEO Claire Hubberstey said: “These clinics will give mothers at Hope Street free access to family law advice when legal aid is not available and help them understand their legal rights and the potential pathways towards contact with their children, where this is in the child’s best interests. We know there's a real disproportional impact on the family if mum is held in custody.
“Through access to trauma-informed, holistic support, women at Hope Street are able to address underlying needs within a stable environment. We know this has contributed to improved parenting capacity, strengthened relationships as well as greater stability for children. This demonstrates that our model delivers impact not only at an individual level, but across families, reducing the risk of intergenerational disadvantage and breaking the cycle.”
NBR’s Supervising Solicitor Miriam Gitlin said: “NBR strive to ensure that the women we work with are fully informed about what their options are and feel that they are supported and have a voice throughout the process. We work in a trauma-informed way, recognising that each individual faces unique challenges and their journeys and outcomes may look different.”
“The legal clinics provided by NBR are invaluable for our Hope Street women. They allow the opportunity for mothers to understand their rights as parents and make supported steps towards regaining contact with their children”
Notes:
Not Beyond Redemption is a charity made up of a team of specialist family lawyers. They are supported by solicitors from partner corporate law firms and pro bono barristers. They provide free family law advice and representation to mothers in prison to help them re-establish or maintain contact with their children, during their sentence and after they have been released. In 2025, they reached their goal of running legal clinics in all 12 women’s prisons in England.
One Small Thing’s mission is to redesign the justice system for women and their children and Hope Street is a replicable and scalable blueprint for change— showing what is possible when women are met with safety, dignity and specialist support instead of prison. Hope Street offers a residential alternative to custody for mothers and their babies as well as support to mothers with older children to maintain contact. Since opening in 2023, more than 300 women across Hampshire in contact with the justice system have been supported with 100% of women who have stayed at Hope Street saying they felt safe. In the last year, two-thirds (34) of residents have been mothers of children under 18, alongside 6 women with adult children and 14 women without children. Six women have been pregnant during their time at Hope Street and Hope Street has been home to 7 mums together with 8 children.
Below is an example of how NBR have successfully assisted a client, leading to a positive outcome of contact.
Case study summary: NBR supported a mother in custody serving a short sentence who had lost consistent contact with her daughter. After release, she faced unstable accommodation, isolation and a high risk of relapse. NBR signposted support for secure more stable living arrangements, and applied to the Family Court. With legal representation and professional oversight, contact was gradually reintroduced in a safe and structured way, progressing from video calls to supervised visits and then community contact. The case demonstrates how specialist legal support can help rebuild family relationships while keeping the child’s best interests at the centre.
