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Connect - Resettlement of short term prisoners



The Connect project is a large consortium covering the entire West Midlands region. The project consists of the Prison Service, West Mercia Probation, Staffordshire Probation, West Midlands Probation and Warwickshire Probation areas. Staff work across thirteen prisons within the West Midlands area. YSS and SOVA (a national voluntary agency) deliver the community based element of the project.

The project aims to overcome barriers to employability for short-term sentenced prisoners (under 12 months) aged 18-35 years on release from custody. Connect staff work with beneficiaries within the prison where they attend a specific programme called 'signpost' and develope individual action plans.

Towards the end of their sentence YSS and SOVA are contacted and provide a volunteer mentor to support the beneficiary on release from prison. YSS provides the mentoring services across Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Staffordshire. The mentoring is focussed on improving their opportunities to gain employment. However a number of obstacles often need to be overcome, including accommodation and substance misuse issues whilst also focusing on employability or training. All beneficiaries who sign up to this programme do so voluntarily.



Visit the Connect Website here



Quote from a Connect Mentor

"Leading our beneficiaries by an invisible hand, showing them horizons they have yet to imagine, taking them to the brow of a hill, pointing them in the right direction and watching them go off in belief of a better life for themselves.

Connect is about helping our beneficiaries help themselves. Offering a guiding hand in what is an often daunting and confusing system of red tape on the outside. Connect is about empowering our beneficiaries with the knowledge, contacts and information so that they can move onwards and upwards to achieve the goals they need to start living their lives the way they should be after their release from custody."