Ex-Cell Programme (2005 - 2014)

Pre Programme

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Each beneficiary who is a short-term prisoner was allocated a volunteer “befriender” at pre-release stage. “Persistent Prolific Offenders” (PPOs) were also accommodated on the programme and they were allocated a befriender at pre-referral stage. The befriender was a volunteer recruited and trained either through the Greater Manchester Community Chaplaincy or the Quality Living Scheme and works with the beneficiary to draw up an initial six month Action Plan.

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The Action Plan comprised three elements:

• Sustainable Accommodation: suitable accommodation and the befriender’s support required to sustain it.

• Sustainable Employment: suitable mainstream employment or more supportive six month paid work placement, longer-term employment prospects and the befriender’s support required to sustain it

• Overcoming barriers: overcoming barriers to achieving the above e.g. drugs/alcohol issues, mental health issues.

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Employment and Paid Work Placements

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Mainstream employment was accessed through appropriate employment agencies. Programme partners Aspire also provided paid work placements and directly employed programme beneficiaries. Aspire offered job search support and complemented the work of the befriender in supporting beneficiaries to sustain their paid work placement and then to moved on to mainstream employment. Paid work placements were available in terms of “in house”, more supportive placements and “external” placements with mainstream employers.

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Some beneficiaries were found employment straight away through sympathetic employment agencies. All other beneficiaries were directly employed by Aspire and placed in six month paid work placements

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Paid work placements were either “in house” or with external employers. In house placements were available in IT Recycling and further opportunities were available in textile recycling and “Home Services” (painting and decorating and construction trades. Training and employment opportunities in e-commerce applications were also being developed.

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External placements were with sympathetic mainstream employers who provided up to six months work experience (at no cost to themselves) in return for guaranteeing each beneficiary an interview for a permanent vacancy.

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In this context Ex-Cell was commissioned by the Manchester Drugs and Alcohol Team to deliver the Ex-Cell Programme as a pilot to referrals from the new Resettlement Centre at Manchester Prison. This pilot was used to test the effect of direct employment provision on resettlement outcomes. As a part of this pilot Manchester City Council made available paid work placements within the City Works department.

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Accommodation

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The aim here was to contract with social landlords to provide support (through the “befrienders and mentors”) to beneficiaries moving straight into a normal tenancy on release – despite any previous blacklisting. The role of the “befriender and mentor” was to enable the new tenant to keep to the terms of the tenancy.

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In some cases meant an agreement by the tenant to have his rent deducted from his wages and paid direct to the landlord by his employer – where he was directly employed by Aspire.

 

Arrangements were in place to access accommodation for beneficiaries through the City Council’s Letwise Plus housing support programme. Discussions took place with other social landlords to provide a similar service with the befriender providing support to enable the new tenant to keep to the terms of the tenancy. In this context rent direct options were also available.

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Progression and Advancement

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The two key outputs at the six month stage were

• Sustainable accommodation

• Movement towards sustainable mainstream employment

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At this point a Post Programme Action Plan (for up to 24 months) was drawn up in order to reinforce these outputs and to develop an “advancement strategy” with each beneficiary who would continue to be supported by the befriender during the post programme period.

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The rationale behind this post programme support was to avoid a situation where support and provision simply stopped after six months, no matter how far beneficiaries have or have not progressed.

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Ongoing support was individually tailored to the needs of each individual beneficiary. Some had attained sustainable employment by the six-month stage and simply needed ongoing support in looking at how to advance further in their new working lives. Others required more intensive ongoing support – in some cases including extended paid work placements.

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But in all cases, tailored support was available for up to a further 24 months after completion of the six-month programme.