Norfolk Foundations project featured in national PCC report
A Norfolk project helping to reduce reoffending by supporting prison leavers into accommodation has been featured in a report published today by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).
The APCC’s ‘Reducing Reoffending In Focus’ features 26 PCC initiatives from all over England and Wales aimed at ending the revolving door of crime by ensuring those offenders who want to turn their lives around and stay out of prison get the help and support they need to do so.
Norfolk’s Foundations Project – which has seen the county’s PCC, Lorne Green, join forces with Norwich-based homelessness charity St Martins to help people released from prison in the city to find accommodation - is one of the initiatives featured in the report. Thanks to backing from partners, the Foundations project is reducing reoffending by bringing vital stability to the lives of prison leavers and supporting them to reintegrate back into their communities.
PCC Lorne Green said: “Release from prison can be an overwhelming and challenging experience. Having somewhere safe and reliable to call home can significantly reduce the likelihood that someone will return to criminal behaviour - but homelessness is a very real risk. Getting help to address what makes them vulnerable to offending is vital in successfully transitioning from a life behind bars to a crime-free one.”
Emma Hutchinson, Head of Resettlement Services at St Martins, said: “Offending, drug and alcohol use, poor mental health. These are just a few of the many issues faced by our clients, which impact not only upon them but on the wider society. Without somewhere safe to stay, and access to appropriate interventions and a listening ear, we see the same people returning to the lifestyles they know; the ‘revolving door’ of the criminal justice system. “ We offer our clients the opportunity to break these patterns of behaviour; to truly engage with the support they need to enable them to move forward.”
The Foundations project is supported by Norwich City Council, Broadland Housing and Norfolk and Suffolk Community Rehabilitation Company. Match-funding has been provided by the National Probation Service - Norfolk and Suffolk, supporting Foundations to run until September 2022.