GETTING OFFENDERS ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Fresh Start New Beginnings (FSNB) – Shrewsbury

FSNB is a charity based in HMP Shrewsbury. It aims to support the care, resettlement and rehabilitation of offenders and ex-offenders in Shropshire.  It started late 2008 and has helped over 100 offenders.  On a small budget, it has had a big impact.  Some of its key factors in its success are:

• Holistic approach
• Partnership working
• Cocktail of funding sources
• Effective use of volunteers/low cost

Holistic approach
The project offers support with key aspects in offenders’ lives. It offers practical support in helping clients secure accommodation upon release (there has been 100% success rate for those needing accommodation upon release) and employment training through rail track training, CV writing and running a Handmade Craft and Hobbies workshop. It also offers counselling, mentoring and a restorative justice course.

Partnership working

“Work with as many organisations as possible” – Annamarie Balram, Project Manager

A crucial aspect to its success is building and developing strong working relationships with other organisations. These range from criminal justice bodies such as Offender Management Groups, Safer Communities Partnerships and education/training bodies like local Arts and Technology College to housing and employment partners like Pertemps Recruitment services, 3WaysRCS (railway construction services) and local social and private landlords.

This partnership approach has led to creative solutions. For example, working in partnership with HMP Shrewsbury and 3WaysRCS, FSNB have been pivotal in co-ordinating the installation of rail track within the grounds of the prison which enable training to be delivered whilst in custody and opens opportunities for those who qualify, to apply to any rail company for employment. FSNB have also been able to “up skill” some prison staff (who run the prison gym) to Network Rail Standards which enables the staff to deliver elements of the training such as First Aid, Manual Handling and Health & Safety. This reduces the overall cost of training to the charity and also enables these elements to be delivered as a rolling programme of training.

Cocktail of funding sources – grants, local community, social enterprise
As well as traditional grant income, the project has been very active in promoting individual giving from the local community. This has been through a mixture of annual events (e.g. concerts, auctions, garden party) as well as sponsored events (e.g. skydive). As well as generating income for the project, this community fundraising has spin-off impact in terms of drawing in more potential volunteers and also educating people about the importance of supporting ex-offenders. Social enterprise has been through the Handmade Craft and Hobbies Workshop where items such as jewellery, artwork, match models and needlework/knitted products are made. Doctor Who scarves are particularly popular! These have then been sold by the charity to raise money. Some prisoners who have since been released are still providing artwork for the charity. This enables them to earn and income and provides the charity with good quality art work to sell and auction. This means last year, the income was split 62% grant income 30% community, 8% social enterprise – meaning over a third of the income was non-restricted and this diversity helps the project to be more sustainable in the long-term.

Effective use of volunteers/Low cost
By having a strong emphasis on volunteers, FSNB is able to offer a very low cost but effective service. It has a team of over 25 active volunteers (many from local churches) who have a variety of roles (mixture of mentors, craft/art tutors, counsellors, administrative staff). All the volunteers get training on dealing with offenders and mentors get specialist training provided by New Hope in Birmingham. They are also part of Mentoring and Befriending Foundation FRANK?? An example of this low cost is the SORI restorative justice course. The Prison Service estimates that it costs £8,500 to run this cost. With its volunteers, FSNB is able to deliver this for £2,000. Indeed, the amount that FSNB delivers on a small income (turnover in 2010 was under £70K) is remarkable. This volunteer involvement is an indication of the ownership of the project by the local community.

“For the project to work, it needs to be local people taking charge of local issues and wanting to see a reduction in crime” – Rev Bob Wiltshire, Chaplain

Useful Websites:
Community Chaplaincy Association
Churches Criminal Justice
Clinks
Caring for Ex-Offenders