The Pressures of Making a Quick Buck...

Peter Nzekwu
25/10/2013

I come from a place where most of the illegal activities I was involved in were usually done for one reason and one reason only...money! Immigration problems stopped me from working and making money legally so I had to find as many other ways of doing so as possible.

Understanding that most young people are confronted with situations unique to each person, and that that is what leads them into a life of crime, is very important.

Some offend for money, some offend to look cool and others offend just because they don't feel like there's anything better for them to do.

What it is that we need to get through to these young people is that: easy come, easy go!

Young people are very impressionable and will usually see something they like, admire or want, but underestimate how much actually needs to be done in order to achieve their goals.

The concept that anything worth doing is worth doing properly, is one that young people can greatly benefit from.

The key is not to expect too much of young people but rather to hope that they broaden their horizons, as they are still developing as a person and need room to learn from their own mistakes. 

The ones who are more mature in their attitude towards life and the idea of volunteering should, in my opinion, be rewarded for this with paid opportunities. Mainly because young people need financial stability just as much as adults.

Provide young people with more to gain and I guarantee our young people army grows faster than imagined.

This is my blog...

Joanna Stabler
27/08/2013

To be forgiven.  Without judgement or blame.  To forgive myself.  Space to be honest with weaknesses.  Accept and be accepted by others without pretence. To be given another chance.   To see the best in everyone.  To be a friend you want to be, without ‘something’ holding you back. Accomplish balance.  Overcome embarrassment.  Listen as well as to be listened to.  Be open to the outcome.

This is me, or who I want to be

I try, I fail, and I learn & give it another go

This is me, this is User Voice?
This is why I believe

I’m not an expert, and will never pretend to be, but I do have belief.

That’s my passion, this is my blog!!!

Rehabilitation and Santa Claus; what's the difference?

Zoe Kennerson

19/8/2013

One is a social concept constructed on the understanding that hard work and behavioural change can reap benefit and reward, however is dismissed by many who doubt evidence of its existence…..the other is a fictional character created to encourage compliance.

So do we believe in rehabilitation?  Do we believe in change?

As an ex-offender and an ex-addict I believe! I believe that I am evidence that people can change, and that not only does rehabilitation exist, it is possible.

I began working for User Voice in October 2012 as a Programme Manager on a Peer Mentoring Project. It was during this work that I began to wonder if others shared my belief and recognised the potential in people and the power of change.

Criminal Justice Services seek not only to punish people who break the law, but to aid rehabilitation and support change. Surely for this to be achieved we need to believe it is possible?

So is rehabilitation real or just another myth like Santa Claus?

We often hear people talk about change, reform, desistance and rehabilitation. We see services strive to achieve and sell the benefits of reform. But do they really believe in it, that it truly exists?

Mum’s, Dads, Grandparents, Aunties and Uncles all tell their young children about Santa. “Be good” they say, “Santa is watching!”   They spend lots of money on presents (to hide and pretend Santa delivered) and they prepare for his arrival on Christmas Eve. Like those trying to support people to rehabilitate, a lot of effort and energy is put into Santa, all the right things are said and done, but his actual existence is still dis-believed. A whimsy for children who know no better!

So how do we make people believe? Not just say they believe, but actually believe! We show them. We show them that not only does it exist, it works!!!

Through my work at User Voice I have been lucky enough to meet lots of rehabilitated “ex-offenders” who have made changes to their lives and are committed to helping others to do the same. My role includes training and supporting peer mentors to provide a service to people in the Criminal Justice System. I see rehabilitated people on a daily basis and my observations tell me that rehabilitation is real! I am fortunate enough to be in a position that enables me to see past the statistics.

The people I work with are evidence of change, the living proof! Not only have they been successful in not re-offending, but they offer hope and inspiration to others who wish to change.

It is human nature that if you are going to try something new (always a daunting prospect when hard work is involved), you look to others who have already done it, to give you some advice and guidance. Surely it makes sense that this opportunity should be available for those looking to stop offending.  Having a peer mentor who has rehabilitated and understands the dynamics of change can be so beneficial for marginalised individuals who want to change. I work with peer mentors who on a daily basis make a conscious decision to live their lives in a different way. These people are thoughtful, insightful, reflective, self-aware, sharing and hard working.

Peer mentoring is a powerful service that contributes towards the reduction of reoffending by providing an opportunity for people to share their own experiences and support others who are in situations they have experienced.

Peer mentoring in criminal justice services is the evidence base that change and rehabilitation are possible.

Of paramount importance, peer mentoring is about belief.  I like my colleagues at User Voice and the team of peer mentors I support, all believe in rehabilitation. We believe it, because we have lived it!   And we believe that the people we work with can achieve it too….… 

Why learning is fundamental to rehabilitation

Stephen Akpabio (LL.M)
6/8/2013

In June 2002, I was convicted of a drug related offence. Although this was my first conviction, it was serious enough to warrant a long custodial sentence.

My first impression of incarceration was that it was quite simply, a complete waste of time. The exception was if you were able to do something meaningful with that time. There was limited choice available as one would expect but education was available. Knowing I faced at least eight years inside, it seemed worthwhile for me to concentrate my efforts on self-development. After all, being in prison was ample evidence of my failure as a criminal. My focus became self-education and self-development.

I completed my first course in 2003, my first degree in 2008, my first Master’s degree in 2009 and my second in 2010. I recall often being asked by both prison staff and my peers what I planned to do after my studies given that a criminal conviction is a bar to most types of employment. Admittedly, at the time I did not know. What I did know was that the process of learning in and of itself provides benefits which include improving self-esteem and self-confidence, opportunities to network and meet new people, participation in a positive and rewarding activity, and perhaps, employment! 

Quite apart from the qualifications, it is the process of learning that is important. Learning is part and parcel of our daily lives and we learn new things every day. The ability to read is something most people learn at a young age. However, some service users lack the ability to read, often through no fault of their own.

Nevertheless, the consequences of lacking the ability to read can be debilitating and can impact negatively on people’s lives. That is why I am delighted to be involved with a national charity, User Voice, as a Programme Manager. User Voice is a charity that is led in the main by ex-service users (80% of frontline staff) and we are working in partnership with London Probation Trust to deliver a Reading Peer Mentoring Programme, Toe-by-Toe, in the community. We aim to help those who lack the ability to read learn how to read with the aid of a specially developed Reading Plan and the support of their peers. The Reading Plan has been developed over a 25 year period and is currently being delivered in 97% of prisons in the UK. Its success in prisons is one reason why we plan to deliver the Reading Plan (Toe by Toe) in communities across London.

This fantastic project has benefits all round. For the participants, they learn to: read - with all the benefits that brings, while society stands to benefit from reduced reoffending, active citizens positively engaging with their communities, contributions to the local economy due to improved employment prospects for participants, etc. For both ex-service users and society, it is truly a win-win situation.

The impact that criminal convictions can have on employment prospects

Bob Ashford
15/07/2013

The first week I joined User Voice I went to a staff business development day. At the start of the day everyone introduced themselves and talked about their previous offences openly. This was unlike anything I had experienced before and when it came to myself I shared my background in Youth Offending teams and the Youth Justice Board from the delivery as opposed to the service user perspective. 

I did though share the two offences I had committed 46 years ago as a 13 year old- producing a mix of astonishment and wry amusement among the people there as the offences were so minor. Did they count I wondered?

Several months later I had to resign as the Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for Avon and Somerset because of those two offences. This was when it hit me that yes those offences did matter, and 46 years later were still capable of stopping me doing something I felt passionate about.

I then remember coming into the office just days after I resigned and was cheered by everyone for being so public and campaigning against the injustice which affects everyone with a criminal convictions.

Last week I found myself sharing the platform at the Criminal Justice Conference 2013 with Jude Jubey, a young man who has been a member of Southwark Youth Advisory Group which has been facilitated by User Voice. The subject was the impact that criminal convictions can have on employment prospects. 

Jude spoke eloquently on his own experiences as a young black guy from Southwark, the problems he had and the aspirations he held. I then spoke, a middle aged, middle class white guy, on my experiences and those of the many hundreds who have contacted me with their own personal stories which have come about as result of their criminal convictions. 

The contrast couldn't have been greater between the two of us, and yet in many ways the thing that joined us together, and the many others who weren't in that room, is the way society sees the offence and not the individual behind that offence. 

That is the real tragedy and why together with User Voice we are challenging and changing perceptions and practice. That’s why it means so much to me to be a part of the team.

Toe by toe has grown, and it has created employment.

Mark Nash
1/07/2013

I’m an ex-offender and I've done a 6 and a 12 year sentence back to back. I came out in 2011 and have been working for User Voice for two and a half years now. I didn't think I would be doing this sort of job or even working in this sort of environment before I came out of jail, but I applied myself and did a degree in counselling and two diplomas in gang mentoring.

I've gone from setting up community programmes in probation, to setting up prison programmes and teaching them how to write proposals in the prisons. I’m working in mental health now as well and doing peer mentoring for mental health patients- it’s ridiculous to see how many projects I’m working on. I think I've done so well, from what I used to be to what I am now, I've completely turned a page. As for the work I’m doing, it’s so interesting. I work in Haringey Community Council and out of it came the toe by toe concept. I used to do the toe by toe concept in jail where you could teach someone to read and write. You use it as a tool to improve reading and writing skills, so service users can grow in self-esteem get them up to a standard where they feel comfortable to do literacy level one.  A lot of people are older- 30s-40s- they've not learnt to read and write all their life. When they’re in jail they are forced to do things for themselves.

It was a service user’s idea saying we should do it in the community and I went with it, going with what I know, and helped put it together. I helped structure it and got the training done for the service users in the community, and helped them facilitate it in the probation office. Its grown now so that User Voice and probation have hired a programme manager to put it together- you can do toe by toe inside, and when you come outside, you can do peer mentoring. If anyone comes in and wants toe by toe training, I would use my service users who are trained in toe by toe to do the training, so it’s really teach one help one. When they've done that I put them onto someone else in probation to help them write a CV.

It helps service users because they evolve along the way and help themselves. Toe by toe has grown, and it's created employment- it’s an ex-offender who has got employed as a programme manager- and I don’t know a lot of companies hiring ex-offenders, so I think it’s a good thing. I never thought I would be doing a job like this now- I didn't think I would be the person providing this material and using my brain to put it all together.

Change can and will take place if we all work together hard enough for it.

Garry Waller
25/06/2013

I think first and foremost it is essential for me to highlight that User Voice has been fundamentally instrumental in the growth and skills that I have acquired over the past 2 years.

On saying that, the reason I joined User Voice was that I thought- looking at the model they used- it is simplistic and very holistic. Subsequently, it looked like the rewards that were potentially on offer for service providers and service users were, from my experience, totally unimaginable.

With my background, having spent the best part of 15 years engulfed in the criminal justice system, I was quite sceptical. Based on my own experiences I was doubtful of just how much of an impact the service users that we engage with could actually have on organisations such as London Probation, whose policies have been built around red tape and bureaucracy.

How wrong could I have been; the changes that have taken place and continue to take place on a daily basis are fruitful and appetizing.

More importantly, for me the energy that has been stirred up within the service user community has been the most satisfying to watch; equipping themselves with the adequate skills to become active citizens.

I have worked with well over a hundred service users; lots of them have successfully completed their orders for the first time, lots more have moved on to gainful employment and lots continue to work voluntarily on councils as members that represent some of the most marginalized groups of people in the country. Now that is what it is about for me.

Change can and will take place if we all work together hard enough for it.

"Truth is on the side of the oppressed" - Malcolm X.

User Voice: The voice to help you help yourself

Eddie Karwhoo
17/06/2013

User Voice have been an inspiration to service users around the UK by giving people a voice and saying to them that we have been there before, we understand your problems, we will give you the voice to help you help yourself.

It happened to me and I have met over hundreds of people that are in the same position as me.

I started with User Voice in Maidstone prison in 2010. Since then I have been a volunteer both in Kent and London.

Where User Voice play a big role is helping service users to change their perception about probation. They make you feel that you have a working relationship to improve your life - it gives you confidence that if others can make it then you can. 

It gives you the opportunity to express yourself in a positive way.

In all, User Voice is a big family that holds hand together and when anybody is drowning they extend their hands to take you out.

Testimonial to User Voice

Venrika Kelly
05/06/2013

User Voice is one of THE most awesome, reliable and helpful charities I have seen set up over the years that are for service users like myself. There is nothing like it; the level of work and determination that goes into setting up focus groups, delivering surgeries across all the LDU's and making sure that all parties are involved, and voices are heard in a safe, fair and non-prejudicial environment is immeasurable.

Trust me when I say that as charities go, User Voice is second to none and will play a key part in making our community safer and bridging the gap between our judicial system and the people that use them, for many more years to come. I am honoured and feel very privileged to be a part of something like this and will be forever grateful for the opportunities I have received  since volunteering.

User Voice you ROCK!

I use my experiences to connect with people and it shows others we can change and be an example

Max Tucker

03/05/2013

My name is Max,

I’ve been volunteering at user voice for nearly 8 months now and I have found that it's been a really valuable experience in my life. I have really enjoyed working on the London probation project.

I love working with the service users in probation of course it can be challenging but that’s par for the course- as a service user & ex offender and recovering addict myself  I can use my experiences to connect with people and it shows others we can change and be an example.

I love to see people try to help themselves, and when we are all working together alongside probation I get great fulfillment when the service users are enjoying what they are taking part in and seeing people that think they have nothing to offer or nothing to say smile and tell me that they really enjoyed that!!!  “MAKES ME HAPPY”