Women prisoners breaking cycle of reoffending thanks to Lottery support

Area:

South East England

Programme:

Reaching Communities

Release date:

16 10 2012

A Sutton and Woking-based initiative enabling women in prison to break the cycle of reoffending, improve their parenting skills and take control of their lives, has been given £80,000 by Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

Beyond Youth CIC’s The Ripple Effect project is one of nine projects across the South East region sharing a total of almost £1.7m in grants today. This expansion of a pilot project will support women in prison to re-evaluate their parenting roles and repair relationships having been separated from their children through a custodial sentence. The client-led programme will re-teach values and boundaries based on a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) framework. Upon release, women will be supported to access courses and volunteering and employment opportunities.

Emma Morris, Managing Director of Beyond Youth, said: “The whole emphasis of the programme is about respecting yourself in order to respect other people and that understanding the importance of boundaries. If you learn boundaries in yourself, you can instil boundaries in your children.

“The beauty of this project is that the content of the programme is very much dictated by the participants – the women talk about the elements of their lives that are causing them problems and through that they then get peer support. Also if we support these women to get a job when they come out, they are better placed to support their children, meaning their children are less likely to commit crime, which is breaking the cycle.

“This grant for our innovative programme working with female prisoners is quite simply the support we need to be able to continue to expand our services and reach more people in need. The funding that the Lottery has generously granted us allows us the security to be able to do what we do best which is changing lives and delivering social impact.”

Pam, 25, has turned her life around since she was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009, following a conviction for GBH with intent. Knowing acutely the difficult journey she faced, she is now training to deliver the Beyond Youth programmes she went through to other women in prison, and catching up on the education she missed when she was younger.

She said: At the time when I was sent to prison I didn't care because my life was so bad that I felt I had nothing left to lose.When I was 13 my mum committed suicide and this is when my life went wrong. Her death left me with the responsibilities that no 13-year-old should have to cope with.My younger sister and brothers relied on me as my dad's drinking spiralled out of control. I couldn't concentrate at school because as well as hurting from her death I also had to keep the home going.Eventually when I felt I couldn't cope anymore I started taking drugs, just to help with the pain and numb my feelings. Then I just made bad choice after bad choice.

“When I was in Send prison I completed loads of courses supposed to help me change.They did nothing. Then in 2011, I was offered a new course called Chance 2 Change. This course was different right from the start and I can honestly say it is the most positive thing I have done for years and years. For the first time I felt I had a chance.They teach you so much stuff and it is all about you as an individual and what you need.

“On the build up to my release I was scared and panicked about coming out and not knowing what would happen. But Beyond Youth were there for me as they promised from the minute I stepped out of the prison gates. They helped me to get training, housing, back into football which is a passion of mine and I had to give up when my mum died. Now, nearly a year since my release my life couldn't be more different. I have my own flat and I work for Beyond Youth. I don't feel scared or sad now because I can see I have a future.”

Also receiving funding today is SHOC, Slough Homeless, which will spend their £292,898 grant on the Springboard Plus project, aiming to help homeless people in Slough to improve their self-esteem, develop new skills and secure paid employment, in addition to traditional drop-in support such as hot meals, shower facilities and clean clothes. The project will also expand on providing support for people obtaining work experience, volunteering and employment opportunities, with courses available in subjects ranging from basic numeracy, literacy and IT to construction skills and gardening.

According to the organisation, their intake figures have risen dramatically over the past 12 months with twice as many clients coming to SHOC for support as either homeless or being threatened with homelessness.

Amanda McGuire, Director of SHOC, said: The grant that we have been awarded by the Big Lottery Fund will enable our charity to help homeless and vulnerable adults through the transition from rough sleeping to getting into work and becoming useful members of the local community by providing them with the skills, training and support needed to move forward in their lives.

John, 48, became homeless in 2008 after being attacked while living in a shared house. He was then in a hostel for two years and following support from SHOC, is currently living in a one bedroom property receiving floating support to maintain his tenancy.

He said: “Both my self esteem and outlook on life was low, so I started a number of courses which included computing, cookery and gardening.  The computer course, like all the courses, was useful.  The other courses, mainly gardening, I am doing because I trained as a gardener at Horticulture College but only got basic qualifications.  The intention is therefore to gain qualifications better than college and hopefully eventually also gain work.”

The Isle of Wight Law Centre Limited will spend their grant of £110,981 on their Stepping Stone Young Adults Volunteer project. This will offer volunteer placements within the Isle of Wight Law Centre to NEET young people aged 18-25, relating to the provision of legal advice to disadvantaged people in the community. The volunteers will attend staff meetings, help develop training courses and monitoring methods, mentor new volunteers and also act as advisors once they are properly trained. Young people will initially undergo a training course covering social welfare law, financial capability and equal opportunities.

This volunteering will not only benefit the young service users, but will also increase the organisation's ability to deliver legal advice to disadvantaged residents of the area. This includes topics such as debt and housing advice and disability living allowance assistance.

Today’s funding of almost £1.7m comes from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme, aiming to help those most in need and build stronger communities.

Sacha Rose-Smith, BIG’s Head of the South East region, said: “Many of the projects receiving funding this month highlight the importance of giving somebody a second chance and investing time with them so they can consider what really matters to them and work towards that goal – whether it is requiring help with parenting skills, career advice and professional training, or the opportunity to obtain some useful work experience at a time when there is very tough competition for jobs. Ensuring people have better chances in life, with access to training and development, is at the heart of the Reaching Communities programme.”

A full list of South East projects receiving funding today:

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888

Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf

Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 370,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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