Organisation of the year category shortlist 2022

Foundation

Foundation is a Registered Social Landlord with 37 years’ experience providing housing related support for high-risk individuals, preventing homelessness, and enabling communities to thrive. They have developed a portfolio of three projects across North Yorkshire that use a restorative approach, with inclusivity, empowerment, choice, and collaboration at their core. Taken together, the services enable a community based, whole family approach that inspires those who use them to believe that change and rehabilitation is possible. 

The Resettlement and Community Safety Service has worked collaboratively with partners to support offenders who pose the greatest risk to communities since 2012. They have also established the HMPPS Directions Personal Wellbeing Service for male clients with multiple, complex needs. This service launched in 2021 and has had a significant impact on its clients’ lives in its first year. They use an intensive, multi-agency approach to work towards positive outcomes including social inclusion, engagement with family/significant others, lifestyle and associates, and emotional wellbeing. Thirdly, +Choices is a bespoke programme that supports perpetrators of domestic abuse as part of a whole system wherein partners, ex-partners and/or other family members are also offered access to the integrated support service. 

Watch Foundation’s short film on their +Choices programme below.

Website: https://www.foundationuk.org/   
Twitter: @Foundation___ 
Email: [email protected] 

The Restore Trust Education, Training and Employment (ETE)Team

The Restore Trust was founded in 2010 with the mission of creating 100 jobs for people on probation who had been unemployed for a significant amount of time, with the view of reducing reoffending rate. This target was achieved, as too was a reduction in reoffending. 

The Education Training Employment team was developed to work with prison leavers and people on probation to support them to overcome barriers to training and employment. For over 12 years, they have provided information, advice and guidance for individuals which includes ongoing support available from the National Careers Service and access to a range of vocational training courses. The Restore Trust has built connections with local and national employers like Wilmott Dixon, Wagamama, Baileys, and Ocado, to offer guaranteed interviews to learners on completion of training, approximately 60% of learners both completed training and attended interviews. 

Website: www.therestoretrust.org
Twitter: @TheRestoreTrust
Email: [email protected]  

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) supports the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Steve Turner in his work. The team helps the PCC deliver the Police and Crime Plan and other statutory duties. As a result, the work falls broadly into the following: 

• Criminal justice, victims commissioning and partnerships; 
• Standards, ethics and scrutiny; 
• Communications and community engagement; 
• Office management, support and case work; 
• Strategic contracting and treasury management; 
• Collaborations and partnerships 

The Cleveland Police force area serves around 568,000 residents and is a geographically small force with a mix of densely populated areas with high levels of deprivation, and some more affluent and rural areas. Covering the four unitary authority areas of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland – several ward areas are among the most deprived nationally, presenting a significant policing challenge. 

Download the Cleveland Police and Crime Plan (2021-24) here.

Website: www.cleveland.pcc.police.uk     
Twitter: @Cleveland_PCC 
Email: [email protected] 

Working Chance

Working Chance is the UK’s only employment charity exclusively for women who have criminal convictions. They believe that no woman should be held back by her past and that with the right encouragement, support, and access to opportunity, every woman can reset her life and transform her future. 

Since 2009, they have helped thousands of women to develop their confidence, skills, and self-belief, empowering them to build brighter futures for themselves and their families, and working with them to find meaningful employment.

The frontline teams work holistically, tailoring each client’s programme to meet their needs. Employability coaches offer support in areas such as CV writing, interview skills, and disclosing a conviction, and employment advisors help women find the role that’s right for them. 90% of the women who come to Working Chance find a job. 

Working Chance partner with employers across the UK to match women with the right opportunities. They also work with policymakers and employers to break down the stigma, stereotypes and barriers that stop many women with convictions from securing employment and progressing in careers. And crucially, they help keep society safer – because employment has been shown to be one of the main drivers in reducing reoffending.  

Find out more about Working Chance’s impact here, read Stella’s story, see how the power of lived experience is harnessed in the work of the Changemakers, and find research on the impact racism in the criminal justice system has on women’s chances of finding work. 

Website: https://workingchance.org/ 
Twitter: @WorkingChance
Email: [email protected]  

GamCare

GamCare is the leading national provider of free information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling harm. GamCare contracts a number of treatment providers to enable a national delivery model, and between GamCare and the Partner Network, have been working in and around the criminal justice system for several years. GamCare were awarded two years of funding by the Gambling Commission to deliver a further development programme. The funding began in April 2021 and runs until March 2023. The main aims of the new programme are: 

1. To engage the criminal justice system in relation to gambling harms through training criminal justice professionals, involving people with lived experience, and facilitating strategic thought leadership. 
2. To explore the gambling/crime issue by increasing understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by different criminal justice cohorts and criminal justice settings via research, consultation, monitoring and analysis. 
3. To evolve current approaches of supporting gamblers in the criminal justice system by piloting new approaches through partnerships, interventions, and innovative pilots, informing future treatment models. 
4. To embed and sustain project findings and best practice through evaluation, learning share, stakeholder involvement, contributing to wider developments, evidence base and agendas. 

Find the In Cell workbook for people in prison here, take a look at the Community workbook for anyone harmed by gambling, and download the Thematic Workshop summaries.

Website: www.gamcare.org.uk
Twitter: @GamCare
Email: [email protected]  

Willowdene Rehabilitation LTD

Established in 1988, Willowdene Rehabilitation Ltd has at the heart of its vision and mission the belief that every individual, irrespective of birth and life circumstances, can live the life they were designed for.

Willowdene’s proven interventions address the causes of offending and substance misuse, deal with trauma, rebuild lives, and ensure those in the criminal justice system do not become or remain in the ‘revolving door’. They provide training in 11 career areas, over 30 qualifications, counselling, and pastoral support.

Delivering a whole systems approach, vulnerable individuals’ needs are met through Willowdene’s in-house services, supported by strategic and frontline partners. This provides a comprehensive and cohesive service, supporting students on a seamless journey out of the criminal justice system and into purposeful living.

In 2010, Willowdene became West Mercia Probation’s strategic partner, designing and delivering bespoke interventions targeting the root causes of offending. In 2012, Willowdene launched its first gender-specific interventions, followed in 2013 by the launch of the first (and only) female residential alternative to custody in the UK.  In 2021, Willowdene was commissioned to deliver interventions to circa 2000 men and women a year and launched its Family Assessment Centre to provide a WSA to mothers/careers and their children.   

Learn about Willowdene’s history, approach, programme, and outcomes here, and find out more about Willowdene’s Probation Service Delivery here.

Website: www.willowdenefarm.org.uk
LinkedIn: Willowdene Rehabilitation
Email: [email protected]

Join us online for the Community Awards ceremony on Tuesday 22 November 2022, 10am-12pm – book your place here.