Invisible Sentence
New Zealand Listener|August 4-10 2018

With her husband behind bars, Verna McFelin set out to help the children of prisoners – with breakout results.

Clare Delore
Invisible Sentence

When police knocked on Verna McFelin’s door in Oamaru on the evening of July 12, 1983, her life, and her children’s lives, changed forever. There are big gaps in McFel in’s memory of the minutes, hours and days in which she absorbed the news that her husband, Paul, had been arrested for his part in the abduction for ransom of teenager Gloria Kong.

Thirty-five years on, the couple are still together and living in Christchurch, Verna at the helm of Pillars, an organisation she established based on experience gained raising children whose father was behind bars, and Paul, a builder in semi-retirement.

Currently, there are 23,000 New Zealand children with a parent in prison. Without Pillar’s help, McFelin says, they are more than nine times more likely than other children to end up in jail themselves. Pillars has developed a wraparound service to care for families of prisoners and to find adult mentors for children whose fathers are in prison.

Pillars was launched on May 19, 1990, the day the McFelins’ youngest child turned five and with Paul still behind bars – he spent seven years in jail for the kidnapping. May 19 was also the date Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married earlier this year and, by happy coincidence, Pillars is the recipient charity of a $5000 gift from the people of New Zealand in honour of the royal marriage.

The money will kick-start a scholarship fund and caps a successful year for the organisation, which was a finalist in the Mitre 10 New Zealand Community of the Year Awards. McFelin has always been community oriented and attributes that to her upbringing.

Tell me about your early life in Oamaru …

Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin August 4-10 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin August 4-10 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

NEW ZEALAND LISTENER DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 dak  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 dak  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 dak  |
September 9, 2024