Transcript Release Lincs Community Chaplaincy

Release Lincs
Community Chaplaincy
Kirstie Clarke
Community Chaplain
Community Chaplaincy Volunteer Mentors
• Volunteer mentors
• Matched prior to release with a man leaving HMP Lincoln
• Full 4 day training including shadowing
• Ongoing training in issues facing our mentees – eg. Drug & Alcohol
awareness, suicide awareness etc
• Ongoing support – monthly supervision and regular support meetings
• Weekly commitment 1-2 hours
Release Lincs Values
• Hope for both victims and ex-offenders
• Love unconditional love, compassion and kindness that goes the extra mile but does not count
the cost
• Belief in the intrinsic uniqueness and specialness of someone who (often) does not believe in
themselves
• Forgiveness holding on to the fact that there is the possibility of forgiveness, restoration and a
new start for anyone, regardless of what they have done
• Restoration of Relationships Demonstrating and modelling caring, consistent and stable
relationships. Mending family ties. Showing people that they matter and are valuable through
unconditional relationship
• Walking alongside as a companion on a journey, when one stumbles there is another to help
them up, and on with the journey
• Long term stability: sharing the values above ensure that mentors of faith or none will tend to be
to be relatively stable over time and so are better placed to provide open-ended support
Community Chaplaincy Mentees
• Initial assessment after referral
• Goals and priorities set based on needs for release support
• Holistic approach
• Support offered over the pathways to reducing reoffending:
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Housing
Health
Drugs and alcohol
Employment, training and education
Families and children
Finance benefit and debt
Attitudes and behaviour
• Meet with mentor weekly
Some statistics
• There are over 7 million people in the UK with a criminal record
• Out of 10 men leaving HMP Lincoln after serving a short sentence, 6 will go on to
reoffend in the next 12 months
• 8 out of 10 men leaving HMP Lincoln have settled accommodation (bucking a national
trend)
• 28 out of 100 men leave HMP Lincoln with a job
• 60% of offenders are thought to have significant literacy problems
• It is thought that around 160,000 children are affected per year by parental custody
• It is estimated that around 74% of the population of prisons show tendencies of one or
more personality disorders
• Between a third and a half of new receptions to prison are estimated to be problem drug
users (equivalent to between 45,000 and 65,000 prisoners in England and Wales)
Contact details
Kirstie Clarke
Release Lincs Community Chaplain
HMP Lincoln
01522 663203
07951 256550
www.lincschaplaincy.org.uk/community_chaplaincy