Relationships are fundamentally vital if those who have offended are to change – writes Jacqueline Hampson. “The drive to stop people within the criminal justice system from re-offending has for too long focused solely on the person on custody, when in fact, their family needs equal support.
Jacqueline Hampson, Probation Service Lead within the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership.
It was Lord Farmer who made the family priority plea back in 2017, claiming that, if supported, it could prove a pivotal factor in transforming lives. But for an institution of so much potential, the family has not been given enough priority.
Until now. With the Farmer ethos in mind, the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership has helped those organisations with a long track record in rehabilitation, to thrive.
They include Partners of Prisoners (POPs) which already supports over 200,000 families and thanks to us, were able to employ two workers to help those homes manage debt, health, and wellbeing.
Homelessness should never be the inevitable outcome following a period of incarceration and yet a too-high percentage of young rough sleepers and sofa surfers have had a spell inside.
World renowned charity Shelter were able to bring in a guidance worker especially for young people with a propensity for criminal violence and on the cusp of homelessness, to aid 18-25-year-olds with advice, support, and guidance.
Using a trauma-informed approach, Magistra has been able to organise several group programmes on problem-solving, communication, decision-making, empathy, and parenting within prisons. A total of 51 people attended these sessions with 48 completing the course.
Running at HMP Altcourse, Hindley, Liverpool and Styal, the Lifeboat programme gets to the crux of how attitudes amongst prisoners were formed and works on empathy building.
Similarly, Merseyside Offender Mentoring (MOMS) have worked with offenders about to come “through the gate”. Sometimes targeting very violent people with support on everything from alcohol abuse to employment, their courses have yielded excellent completion rates.
All of which, I remind you, has happened due to VRP funding.
These fantastic examples have been put together in a report published shortly, and I would strongly advise that you read the section on the final organisation we have worked with, Time Matters. Their case study features the child of a prisoner, who through their often artistic-led work, has made so much progress that he now mentors others who were in his position.”
Jacqueline Hampson works for the Probation Service and is their lead within the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership.