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In this month's edition...
Rough sleeping strategy
The government has released its Rough Sleeping Strategy, with the aim of ending rough sleeping entirely by 2027. Justice Minister Rory Stewart has written a blog about a new pilot launched as part of the strategy, designed to support prison leavers and empower prison officers to offer this support. He writes "The particular focus of these pilots will be prisoners on very short sentences – often the most difficult group to engage with. The officers will ensure that the prisoners are fully signed up to the benefits, an employment support system and that their bank accounts are setup before they leave prison. But their key task will be to find suitable housing, and to provide support for prisoners to sustain their new accommodation." Read the blog here
Progress on prison drugs pilot
The Justice Secretary, David Gauke MP, has announced progress on the £9m Drug Recovery Prison pilot at HMP Holme House. Funded jointly by the Ministry of Justice and NHS England, the pilot takes a two-pronged approach to tackling drugs in prison, with a focus both on increasing security and detection, and improving access to specialist health care. Experiences and evidence from the pilot should inform the work of the recently formed Drugs Taskforce. The taskforce is working with law enforcement and health partners in government to address drug misuse by people in prison, and focuses on establishments experiencing the most significant challenges. Find out more here
Women's mental health network
Wish is launching a Women’s Mental Health Network. It would like women with experience of mental health issues and/or the criminal justice system to tell them the service provision issues that they want to see change. The aim of the network is to involve organisations from different sectors working together to provide a user-led campaigning platform to give women with mental health needs a voice, and drive forward change. Find out more here
Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Protocol
Edward Argar MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Under-secretary of State for Health and Social Care, wrote to the Justice Committee to inform them of a new draft Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Protocol. This aims to increase the use of community sentences with mental health, drug and alcohol treatment requirements and sets out what is expected from agencies to improve access to treatment for people in contact with the criminal justice system. It is currently being tested at five test bed sites: Milton Keynes, Northampton, Birmingham, Plymouth and Sefton. The protocol has been developed between the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England. Find out more here
National Health Volunteer Awards 2018
The first HelpForce Champions - National Health Volunteer Awards 2018 is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on volunteers, and volunteer managers, and show them how much they are appreciated. There are eight awards: Outstanding Volunteering Team of the Year; Young Volunteer of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; Outstanding Staff Champion for Volunteers; Volunteer Leader of the Year; Partnership working in volunteering; Innovation in Volunteering Award; and Celebrating inclusion and diversity in volunteering. The deadline for nominations is 12th September. Find out more here
Maternal mental health
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance is holding 'Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference 2018' [6th September, London, from free]. The conference includes sessions on women in prison, Gypsies and travellers, and women with learning disabilities. Find out more and book here
Autistic people in the justice system
Westminster Briefing is holding 'Rough Justice? How is the justice system serving autistic people?' [13th December, London, £170.00 + VAT]. The conference will explore critical aspects of how the justice system currently serves autistic people. Delegates will learn from a range of speakers with first-hand expertise to develop their understanding and practice in this area. This will include a range of speakers from the justice system, academia and from autistic people and their families. Find out more here
Sport in prisons
Professor Rosie Meek’s report, A Sporting Chance: An Independent Review of Sport in Youth and Adult Prisons has been published by the Ministry of Justice. The report is part of the Department’s response to Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system. It highlights the role that sport and physical activity can play in rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, as well as best practice from across the custodial estate and recommendations for enhancing provision. Clinks helped gather evidence for the review. Find out more here
Young people's mental health
The Government has published its response to the consultation on its transforming children and young people’s mental health provision green paper. Youth Access, acting on behalf of The Young People’s Health Partnership, was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to run four two-hour focus groups with young people to get their thoughts on the proposals outlined in the green paper. Read the report here
Mental health services for veterans
NHS England has published a leaflet on the dedicated mental health services available to Armed Forces personnel approaching discharge and existing veterans. There are two services: the NHS Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service and the NHS Veterans’ Mental Health Complex Treatment Service. Both are available across England, and provide support from specialists in mental health with an expert understanding of the Armed Forces. The leaflet follows requests from ex-forces, their families and MPs for clear information on the dedicated mental health services available for veterans. For more information, visit NHS Choices here
Children of alcohol dependent parents
The government has funding available to support children of alcohol dependent parents. A total of £1million has been made available to award to voluntary organisations carrying out work in this area. The deadline for applications is 7th September. Find out more here
Women's organisations grants update
The deadline for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) grant funding competition as part of its Female Offender Strategy has been extended from 29th August 2018 to 10am on the 12th September 2018. There is £3.5million for 2018/19 and 2019/20, which includes £2million of funding explicitly for female offenders who have experienced domestic abuse. Details can be accessed under reference ITT 2020. All details on MoJ portal here
Celebrating involvement in healthcare
NHS England’s ‘celebrating involvement in healthcare’ community grants scheme is open for applications for the fourth year. Grants of up to £2500 are available to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to showcase how they have been involving patients, service-users and the public in improving health services. Full details of eligibility and how to apply can be found on the NHS England’s Involvement Hub. The deadline for applications is midnight on Thursday 20th September 2018. Find out more here
Social prescribing schemes
The government will invest nearly £4.5 million in programmes to allow patients to access local voluntary and community services such as walking clubs, gardening or arts activities. The practice, known as ‘social prescribing’, aims to improve patients’ quality of life, health and wellbeing by recognising that health is affected by a range of social, economic and environmental factors. Evidence shows that this approach can reduce demand on NHS services: a UK study found that after three to four months, 80% of patients referred to a social prescribing scheme had reduced their use of accident and emergency departments, outpatient appointments and inpatient admissions. A total of 23 social prescribing projects in England will receive a share of the funding to extend existing social prescribing schemes or establish new ones. Find out more here
Free cookery books
Beyond Food is offering free cookery books called 'How to Cook and Keep on Cooking' to organisations helping vulnerable young people. The book is aimed at young disadvantaged people to help them to take care of their health and wellbeing. For more information email: khaing@beyondfood.org.uk
Evaluation guides for health-related services
Public Health England has published a review of 48 evaluation guides related to health and wellbeing. Each review includes: what the guide covers; what it is useful for; any advantages or disadvantages of using the guide; and the specific evaluation themes each guide support. Find out more here
Autism and justice resources
The National Autistic Society’s 17th 'International conference on offenders with an intellectual and/or developmental disability' took place in April, and you can now view the presentations online here
Stopping the rise of drug misuse deaths
This blog from Russell Webster looks at an experimental “deep dive” study, published by The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and commissioned by Public Health England, into a sample of 115 drug misuse deaths. The sample included both suicides and unintentional overdose deaths. He summarises the study and the statistics within. Read the blog here
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This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary sector organisations involved in the health and care of poeple in the criminal justice system. It currently has 3,284 subscribers.
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