What is life like after leaving prison?
How does it feel in the first hours and days after your release? Where do you go? Who do you meet?
Every day, around 30 people are released from Scottish prisons and many don’t know where they’ll stay upon release.
Through our Connect to Community project, we work alongside people as they navigate this journey, to make that transition smoother and to help them find their place back in the community.
Stability through long-term connection
Tom had done 8 years in prison. A complicated 12-month license looked likely to lead him into a life of isolation.
Two people reached out to support his faith journey – one meeting him in a café regularly in his first few months, and a second meeting him in a church for bible study.
Tom is now off license, in a permanent tenancy, learning to drive, and proving himself to be an asset to his neighbours and family.
Who is Connect to Community for?
Anyone within the criminal justice system can access this support, facilitated by prison chaplains, relatives, or the individual themselves. We work with people in the months leading up to release, and connect them with a local church mentor that helps them re-enter community and return to a healthy, integrated lifestyle.
Friendship, acceptance, honesty
Sam returned to his own flat, low in confidence, and isolated after serving his sentence. As a confident worker in the hospitality industry he felt a ‘fish out of water’ in prison, but he was a man without friends in the outside world. He had lost his employment and his confidence.
Connect to Community met with Sam fortnightly after his release. Walks, coffees and shared volunteering tasks began to rebuild Sam’s confidence. After a few months he found the courage to apply for work, and was successfully recruited. His skills in the hospitality industry were quickly recognised and he was promoted twice in quick succession.
With emotional support from Connect to Community he began the difficult task of re-connecting with old friends and finding the courage to disclose where he had been the last couple of years. He was surprised and blessed to discover he was not rejected but accepted for his honesty and humility.
Volunteer mentoring
Since 2013, Connect to Community has been working with men and women in their journeys after prison through the dedication of our amazing volunteer befrienders.
85% of people supported remain out of prison for 12 months (exceeding the national average of 73% remaining out of prison)
Supported by a team of professional Reintegration and Resettlement Workers, our incredible volunteers are instrumental in reducing re-offending rates across Scotland.
Changing lives through friendship
Ross’s world fell apart when the toxicity of his addiction-impacted domestic relationship exploded and he split from his partner while his child was just 9 months old.
In desperation he reached out to Connect to Community for support through his court journey. We were able to connect him with:
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- a Bethany Recovery worker to support with his addiction
- skilled psychological support, which enabled him to keep working through these court processes
- unflappable friendship to help him remain resilient to changes, maintain confidence and reduce his isolation
Nine months later, he is living a clean and sober life. He has started attending ‘recovery church’, he has come through his court case safely with his job intact, and he has his little boy back in his life. His relationship with his former partner is amicable and they are able to share childcare, which brings Ross a lot of joy.
The support and friendship of the Christian mentors in his life have brought a young man in crisis stability, recovery and hope.
Could you help?
We are in urgent need of more volunteers!
Could you help someone on their journey after prison? Come and see what being a Volunteer Mentor is about at our Training Day in Glasgow.
Come along on the 29th August to discover what a volunteer befriending mentor does. Find out what being a part of this important ministry could mean for you as an individual or as a church.
Please join us on Saturday 29th August from 9.30-15.30 to find out more. Training is free but please bring along a packed lunch. If you would like to know a bit more please don’t hesitate to contact 0141 766 0167.
We looking forward to seeing you in Glasgow!