Criminal Justice Programme, Manchester
Our Criminal Justice Programme covers Greater Manchester. We work with people of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of the offence committed.
Reducing Re-offending
We help reduce the number of people reoffending on leaving prison. Less than 5% of people with criminal convictions who receive our support reoffend, in contrast to approximately 28% nationally.
“You’ve opened so many doors. Meeting all these new people has helped me learn so much, helped me settle and helped me find security. I love my volunteering. If it weren’t for you and all these people [at the volunteering placement] who helped turned my life around, I could never see it in my mind. Now I can”
Why Volunteering Works
For many, the complex circumstances individuals face on release, present a set of barriers which can seem insurmountable. Without the right support many have little chance of breaking out of a cycle of criminality which is often engrained in their attitudes, social networks, and families.
Volunteering enables people to participate in positive and purposeful activity, improving integration, building a sense of belonging and involvement and developing a resilience to turn their back on the past.
“Step Together makes a real impact on people’s lives. People who haven’t worked for a very, very long time. [The clients] come back from their volunteering placements beaming. Their whole demeanour changes. It builds their confidence, and develops a work ethic. It gives them a sense of purpose, and a self-respect they never thought they would get back. I know if I pass someone on to Step Together, things will happen. Many of our clients feel let down by other agencies, but never by Step Together Volunteering”
Working in Partnership
The programme works in close partnership with the National Probation Service, community safety partnerships, local councils, and the Department for Work and Pensions, ensuring that volunteering is embedded as part of a holistic package of resettlement support.