May 2022

Dozens more offenders are being supported by our rehabilitation programme thanks to support from The National Lottery Fund.

We are now working in four new prisons and have further expanded our work in an existing prison, supporting more than 100 more men and women.

Working with men in HMPs Hull, Humber, Wealstun and Sudbury and women in HMP Foston Hall takes our programme into the North East for the first time and expands our operations in the Midlands.

Three-year funding from The National Lottery Fund is covering costs for an additional Housing & Employability Coordinator and Employment Advisor. We will be supporting men and women working in existing workshops run by other employers or the prisons themselves, helping participants to identify and overcome challenges and secure work and housing on release.

Supporting this, each workshop has committed to paying participants enhanced wages, giving participants a greater chance of building up savings ready for release. The doubled pay already offered in the workshops we run in seven other prisons allows participants to put hundreds of pounds into savings.

Similar to our existing work – operating recycling workshops which engage men and women in meaningful work – we are supporting participants ‘through the gate’, helping them to find training or work opportunities, move into decent, stable housing and rebuild family relationships. These are all the strongest indicators in reducing reoffending risks.

Chief Executive Alasdair Jackson said: “This funding is a great opportunity for us to more easily expand our hugely successful rehabilitation programme. While our existing prisons require commercial partnerships to deliver workshop ourselves, Lottery funding allows us to support existing workshops.
“Unfortunately, prisons were hit hard by Covid-related restrictions, making this programme trickier to implement due to ongoing restrictions within prisons. However, we’re now well underway in each prison – testament to our team’s commitment to supporting people and the men and women’s commitment to their rehabilitation.
“We’ve had a really positive response from the prison staff and new programme participants, who feel they’ve needed a programme like ours offering a wrap-around service.
“We’re looking forward to seeing lots of success stories in the coming months and years.”