The London Housing Foundation has awarded £88,000 to the Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) to help expand their peer support scheme.
Pact supports prisoners and their families to make a fresh start, to minimise the harm that can be caused by imprisonment on people who have committed offences, on families and on communities.
The peer support scheme is a new initiative that supports people to help their peers, recognising that if you have been through a situation you are uniquely qualified to help others in that same situation.
Andy Keen-Downs, CEO of Pact said: “This grant will enable us to employ a specialist worker to build the peer support scheme. Over the next two years we aim to recruit 30 new people who have experience of prison and the courts who can offer support, advice and mentoring to others going through the system. This will allow us to support a significant number of prisoners and their families, reducing crime and enabling people to get back on their feet.”
Simon Dow is the Chair of LHF. He said: “We are pleased to be able to support this important work. Pact are right when they say that the best people to help others are those who have experienced prison themselves. Not only is their help invaluable, but they gain skills, confidence and new opportunities by volunteering.”
