Funding for mentors helping inmates get back on track
A Shropshire charity which helps rehabilitate and introduce former offenders back into society is set to benefit from a £2,000 donation towards its work.
Fresh Start, New Beginnings is run by the chaplaincy department at HMP Shrewsbury.
It provides support and mentoring to offenders and former offenders on issues such as employment, training and housing, helping them take back control of their lives to prevent re-offending.
The charity applied to West Mercia Police Authority’s Community Policing Board Fund for a donation towards the costs of training its mentors and was successful in being awarded £2,000 – the cost of training 10 support workers.
Since December 2008, 113 people in The Dana have been helped by Fresh Start, New Beginnings, which has a 100 per cent success rate in securing accommodation on release for those who need it.
It also runs a restorative justice course, in which the human impact of their crimes on victims is driven home to those serving their sentence.
Further support comes in the way of training courses in partnership with a railway construction company called 3WaysRC, opening up opportunities for former offenders to seek employment in the field.
Mentors also work with clients to help them produce a CV and the charity operates a Handmade Crafts and Hobbies workshop in partnership with the prison, where selected inmates produce crafts items such as jewellery and match models, which are then sold by the charity to raise further funds.
Chief Inspector Sarah Chaloner, in charge of West Mercia Police’s custody departments, said Fresh Start, New Beginnings provided a vital service in helping former offenders to turn their lives around.
She said: “Many offenders come from deprived backgrounds and do not achieve the average literacy levels of an 11-year-old.
“As a result, they don’t have the skills or knowledge to get on in life when they leave the prison system.
“Mentoring helps former offenders tap into a whole range of services to help them integrate back into society.
“Of course, mentoring is just one aspect of this charity and the restorative processes that it also supports can often have more impact than prison alone.
“Looking a victim in the eye and coming face to face with the impact of your crime is a powerful tool in preventing future offending and I am pleased that we are able to support the good work of Fresh Start, New Beginnings in this way.”
