April 2021

A digital donation is helping the men and women we support to secure jobs and stay connected.

Cadent Foundation has donated £13,200 to our offender rehabilitation programme, to pay for mobile phones and tablets for those recently released from prison.

The devices are already helping men and women to resettle and rebuild relationships, allowing them to reconnect with friends and family as well as access job adverts, online training or support services and even complete video call job interviews.

The funding will cover 88 tablets and 88 smart phones, along with three months-worth of data, to be given to graduates of our programme.

Alasdair Jackson, chief executive of Recycling Lives Social Enterprise, said: “This donation has been a great help to the men and women we support, particularly at a time when staying connected digitally has been a lifeline for so many.

“Securing paid work and forming positive, supportive relationships are two of the strongest factors for reducing an ex-offender’s risk of reoffending so equipping someone with a smart phone or tablet supports both these things.

“As well as giving people independence the donated devices also save participants from spending their savings, allowing them to invest in other essentials such as new clothes for a job interview or driving lessons.

“We’re very grateful to Cadent Foundation for this donation which will make a lasting difference to people’s lives and helps us to reduce reoffending rates significantly.”

Donna has used her tablet to access an online college course, allowing her to start developing new skills and knowledge for a career she hopes to pursue in the future – “it made it much easier than trying to do it on a mobile phone,” she said.

“I would’ve been lost without the phone,” said Graham. “And it was one less thing to worry about as well.”

Andrew has used his phone to reconnect with his family and access substance misuse support programmes.

Donna, Graham and Andrew are just three of the hundreds of men and women supported by our programme each year; more than 80% of whom move into employment on release from prison and fewer than 5% of whom reoffend.

The Cadent Foundation is funded by local gas network Cadent, established to support projects that help people living in vulnerable situations and energy-poor communities.