Sixty-One
Church-based Hubs helping ex-prisoners build new crime free lives.
Sixty-One helps prisoners and ex-prisoners lead meaningful crime-free lives within Greater Bristol.
We do this by inspiring, enabling and supporting the local community to provide the relational and practical support they need. Much of our activity is partnership based, particularly with churches.
We work in this way as it creates a bridge between the prison gates and the community the ex-prisoner is expected to function in. In addition, partnership working scales up the service, reduces cost and enables it to be more personal and relational, and hence more effective.
As part of this programme, we organise events that help build a sense of community and connection with our volunteers, staff and local groups. Meals, quizzes, walks etc help the ex-prisoners feel part of the local community and to see and feel what a crime-free future could look like.
“MentorMe has supported me so much since leaving prison and re-establishing in the community. Having someone there each week is such a comfort to me - helping me sort out my benefits, going to appointments etc. And it’s helped me to stay clean and, away from substances. It is a brilliant scheme helping ex-offenders rebuild their lives.”
Mentee.
Mentee.
We directly run two rehabilitative projects: MentorMe and the Christmas Gift project. In addition, we support three main partnerships. These are:
- Four community based rehabilitative Hubs
- An MBA Empowerment Course
- A Constructive Masculinity Course
In addition, we are developing literacy, employment and housing support for ex-prisoners.
The Need:
Over 50% of offenders reoffend within a year of release, yet the majority of prisoners want to live crime free. Significant factors in this disparity of outcome are mental health issues (exacerbated by being imprisoned) and the challenges faced upon release - challenges that too many ex-prisoners just don’t have the resources to deal with. The estimated cost to the country of this failure is £18.1 billion per year. The human cost to the lives of the victims, offenders and their families is huge and generational in its impact.
For more information please see:
www.sixty-one.org
www.facebook.com/SixtyOne61
twitter.com/SixtyOneBristol
