Faith in
Community (Scotland) is delighted to announce that it has been awarded £901,471
from the Big Lottery Fund to develop its Faith in Throughcare
programme, which will support people returning from short-term prison
sentences.
This
considerable investment will, over the next five years, enable people like Mark
to rebuild their lives on release from prison, with the support of trained
volunteers and a network of local community organisations. Mark is a 35 year
old man with a 20 year history of offending that is linked to drug and alcohol
addictions. He’s from an area of Greenock where the prison population is
three and a half times higher than the national average.
Living
with his sister, he’s managed to stop drinking and is on a daily methadone and
diazepam prescription but, due to years of substance misuse, he suffers severe
anxiety which makes him anxious about going outside.
Mark
said: “I would have been dead. I really felt like killing myself before Faith
in Throughcare started getting me out. I was never out of here. I feel
like I can talk to them and know that they won’t judge what I have done.” Through
his involvement with the project and with the support of volunteers since 2013,
Mark’s confidence has grown. He opened up about how hard he found life without
drugs and alcohol but meeting a volunteer who had a similar history to his own
gave him hope for his own recovery. “I enjoy the volunteers getting me out of
this house and can have a laugh with them. Faith in Throughcare is one
of the only things I have in my life that does not make me angry,” he added.
A small
staff team will work with people like Mark who are leaving prison, as well as
with local people living in East Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Glasgow and
Dundee. By bringing together teams of volunteers and by building the
capacity of existing local groups, the project aims to build a strong
neighbourhood infrastructure where communities are able to welcome back people
who have previously been in prison – sometimes on several occasions – helping
them not only stay away from prison in future, but also supporting them in
using their skills and talents to contribute meaningfully and positively to the
life of the local community.
Faith in Throughcare has been piloting its approach over the
past three years, initially in the north of Glasgow, where it has worked
closely with St Matthew’s Centre in Possilpark, as well as with local churches,
community groups and statutory and third sector organisations. With
funding from the Church of Scotland, the Tudor Trust, the Robertson Trust, the
Dulverton Trust, the LankellyChase Foundation and the Scottish Government’s
Reducing Re-offending Change Fund, a team of 60 volunteers have supported over
100 people returning from short-term prison sentences. Initial evaluation
of the work identified that the relationship between somebody leaving prison
and a volunteer mentor who builds the person’s confidence in helping them to
help themselves, was critical in helping people to escape the cycle of
re-offending which affects the lives of so many people living in Scotland’s
economically poorest communities.
“Everyone
who has worked so hard to make Faith in Throughcare a success is
thrilled by this award”, said Fergus McNeill, Chair of the project steering
group and Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of
Glasgow. “Faith in Throughcare has always been about pooling resources
to give people second chances and to build communities. The Big Lottery Fund’s
award makes it possible for us to use what we have learned to take the work so
much further; building on the strengths and resources of individuals, groups
and communities to support a safer and fairer society for everyone. The funding
will secure staff positions to recruit, develop and support volunteers – to
recruit, develop and support people leaving prison – so that they can settle
back into their communities and make a positive difference to them. We’re now
able to extend that work to more communities who can and will see the
benefits.”
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