Salford Foundation

Adult Inclusion Team

Parents participating in a skills and aspirational workshop

The Adult Inclusion Team works with lone parents, women suffering domestic violence, also men and women at risk of offending, going through the justice system or re-settling in the community after a custodial sentence. Through mentoring programmes, bespoke workshops and other intervention measures, the team assists individuals to overcome barriers or setbacks in their lives by raising their aspirations and self-confidence.

Together Women Project

Women in Salford who may have offended or who are at risk of doing so can access the award-winning Together Women Project and the broad range of services it offers including drug and alcohol support, counselling, parenting skills, employment and training and gender-specific support services.

Operating from a women only centre - with creche - and offering a safe and relaxing environment, the project has a number of specific aims:

• To reduce re-offending
• Avoid family breakdown
• Increase access for women to community-based services
• Divert women from custody

Women learn computer skills and (right) the Ofsted registered creche

REACH

REACH raises aspirations and employability skills for women over 18 in Salford who, for a number of reasons, are seeking work and training opportunities for the first time or who are returning to the employment market after a break.

 

 

They may have low confidence and a lack of formal qualifications or might be lone parents with child care needs.

Funded by Salford City Council, REACH delivers workshops underpinned by one-to-one mentoring and which offer advice and guidance around debt and personal finance, benefit advice, CV writing and basic skills.

Many would not have the confidence to join a college course or a large class of students and REACH provides tuition and life coaching in a less formal atmosphere, encouraging participants to engage more openly with tutors and colleagues.

Since April 2008 when REACH began, two hundred and forty women have taken part in the six week courses.

Service users can be signposted to other agencies where required, but REACH offers an individualised support programme designed to accommodate all needs.

Certificates of Achievement are presented to participants on completion of their course and here is what some of them had to say:

Maria Sutton (single mother of two) – “Both my girls are now at school and I always wanted to study accountancy. Thanks to REACH I am now able to do that.”

Joanne Hoath (mother of three) – “It’s about getting information and qualifications.  I have been a full-time carer but I now plan  to start my own dog grooming business.”

Eunice Johnson (mother of three) – “I split from my partner after a difficult relationship.  I had lost all confidence and just didn’t know what to do. Now I am so happy and plan to be a care worker.”

Pauline Njoku (Mother of two) – “My life was shattered due to domestic violence.  Now I am doing computer skills, English and numeracy and hope to be a social worker”

Tina Massey (Partially deaf) – “My confidence was very low and I couldn’t get a job apart from in a supermarket.  Now I am going to learn sign language so that I can work with deaf children and young people with hearing difficulties.”

Pictured (above left): Joanne Hoath and Maria Sutton with REACH Co-ordinator Rachel Walsh.

Pictured (above right): Tina Massey, Diane Lloyd and Pauline Njoku with REACH Co-ordinator Lorna Irving (2nd Left).

Achieve

Salford Foundation is playing a key role in the Achieve initiative to help reduce re-offending in Cheshire and Greater Manchester and to assist the rehabilitation of offenders.

The Foundation is one of 23 organisations appointed by North West Probation Trusts to deliver a range of services to support ex-offenders into employment, training or volunteering.

Facilitators and co-ordinators are working across Greater Manchester and Cheshire and at Styal Prison, recruiting and training mentors prepared to spend time with ex-offenders who seek guidance with a number of concerns.

Funded by the National Offender Management Service and the European Social Fund, this element of the Achieve project, a national scheme, is delivered by Salford Foundation on behalf of the Probation Service in the North West.

Clients can be individuals who have served or are serving custodial or non-custodial sentences.

They seek help and guidance towards work, training and volunteering opportunities as part of their rehabilitation process.

They are matched with a mentor who is able to offer support and guidance with housing issues, finance and family matters, plus basic skills in order to help with requirements such as form filling and job applications.

In Styal Prison in Cheshire, for example, over 70 women have accessed the scheme and at least three women have managed to secure work, four have taken on voluntary work and a large number have found work placement opportunities.

Prior to release they are supported with life skills, confidence-building workshops, finance and budgeting, child care guidance and CV preparation.

Changing Directions

Changing Directions provides one-to-one mentoring to help individuals with their confidence, housing, debt and financial matters, employability skills and accessing support for substance/alcohol misuse.

This mentoring project is acknowledged within the criminal justice service as an extremely valuable and important intervention process which has had great success in supporting people in Salford who are going through the justice system and those at risk of offending.

These can include 18 - 24 year olds, prolific offenders, BME groups and women.

The work of Changing Directions has been recognised with two recent awards. In 2008 volunteer mentors received an Adult Learning Award in recognition of their learning in preparation for their role as mentors in the community. The Changing Directions team was presented with a 'Highly Commended' Award from the Greater Manchester Criminal Justice Board for their work with ex-offenders and those at risk of offending.

Workshops help clients to discover new talents and raise their aspirations