From Grizzly Bear to Teddy Bear
Hard core prisoners making teddy bears for children? It's happening in Australia and it's making a difference in the lives of both the inmates and the children.
A child lies on a stretcher inside an ambulance racing toward a hospital. Injured and afraid, he gratefully accepts a plush teddy bear from a paramedic. The stuffed bear brings comfort and security during a frightening time. What he doesn’t know is that the bear was made by a prisoner.
These “Trauma Bears” are a product of PF Australia’s Soft Toys Programme, a project that began 12 years ago with Prison Fellowship and Loddon Prison. At that time, the Salvation Army distributed the bears to disadvantaged children. Now the programme includes the production of Trauma Bears, and inmates can also purchase materials to make bears for their own children or as gifts for others.
PF Australia volunteers Robin and Lyle Burns still marvel at the sight of gruff, aggressive prisoners creating cute, cuddly teddy bears. “It’s amazing to hear their coarse talk and then see them with a needle and thread making soft toys,” Robin says. “But it shows that inside of them there is a soft side that needs to be encouraged.”
The bears appear to be helping the prisoners as much as they bring comfort to injured children. “It seems like good therapy,” PF Australia’s Field Director Kevin Maddock explains. “A lot of guys just really love doing something with their hands that they feel good about.”
The bears are stitched by hand, so each one is unique. The fact that the bears are not mass-produced seems to make a difference to the children. “One of the inmates made a bear for his 8-year-old son,” Robin recalls. “Four years later, he says his son still feels the bear is special and never lets it out of his sight.”
Robin and Lyle enjoy their interaction with the prisoners who volunteer to sew the bears. Everyone involved appreciates the comfortable, relaxed sewing process, which encourages easy conversation. The inmates have even offered advice to the older couple, providing tips, for example, on how to make their car theft-proof.
“The time we spend there is so special,” Robin says. “As long as God wants us there, and our physical health allows us, we’ll continue.”
