Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 851 | 27 September 2024

Light lunch

In this issue...

CLINKS NEWS: Promote your events with Clinks

We are excited to offer Clinks’ voluntary organisation members a new opportunity! From October 2024 to March 2025, as part of a pilot programme, you can promote your paid-for events on the Clinks website for a small fee.

What is included? Your event will be listed on our website’s events page for up to 2 months leading up to the event. You’ll also receive a mention in our monthly Events Newsflash and promotion across our social media channels, reaching our extensive network of members and contacts within the criminal justice sector.

How to get started: Read our member event promotion guidance to find out more and complete the event submission form with your event details. 

CLINKS NEWS: Clinks' members connect

Join us for the next Clinks' Members Connect event [30 September 2024, 10:00 - 11:30, Online]. As valued members of our community, this is your chance to engage in an informative and interactive session designed to help you maximise the benefits of your Clinks membership. What to expect:

  • Connect with fellow members and the Clinks team
  • Discover exclusive updates, resources, and member benefits from Clinks and our partners
  • Participate in interactive sessions, including Q&A opportunities and member-focused discussions
  • Spotlight a Clinks team and gain insights into how they directly support our membership community

Whether you’re a longstanding member, recently joined our community, or considering joining, this event is for you! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate with fellow members to get the most from your Clinks membership. Find out more and register here

CLINKS NEWS: the Wales Social Justice Conference

Supported by The Waterloo Foundation and coordinated by Clinks, Community Justice Cymru, Inside Out Support Wales, Safer Wales, and the Welsh Centre for Crime & Social Justice

Join us for a day of inspiring talks, workshops, and networking, focused on the vital role of the Community Sector in shaping justice delivery in Wales [21 November 2024, 09:30 - 16:00, Cardiff City Stadium].

The theme, Community Sector - Core to Welsh Justice, will explore the sector’s contributions, partnership working, and influence on justice reform. The event features guest speakers, government officials, Welsh academics, and lived experience speakers. Register here

CLINKS NEWS: Fair Chance Employment webinar

Join us for a webinar on "Fair Chance Employment in the UK" [8 October 2024, 14:00 - 15:00, online, free]. The event will be hosted by the Fair Chance Business Alliance and will explore the challenges faced by individuals with criminal records and the role of inclusive employers in adopting Fair Chance Employment practices.

Key topics include barriers to employment, the role of employers, and the world's first Fair Chance Employment Charter. Gain insights into how voluntary organisations can advocate for and support Fair Chance Employment at scale. Register here 

CLINKS NEWS: early release & homelessness - what the London voluntary sector needs to know

On 5 September 2024, Clinks and Homeless Link came together in partnership to deliver an online event which outlined the new SDS40 policy and the impact that it will have on homelessness, the wider voluntary sector and people leaving prison.

Check out the event recording to hear from our voluntary sector coordinator working at HMP Isis who shares detail on what is happening from a prison perspective, and our London Development Officer who explores the services and support available. Jeremy White from Homeless Link also led a discussion on how homelessness services can work in partnership with statutory and other voluntary agencies in London to respond to this emerging situation. Watch the recording here

MEMBER FOCUS: Heroes Rights (CUBE)

Heroes Rights CIC is run by Tammi Owen and Max Chadwick, both trained counsellors and wellbeing practitioners who have extensive experience of working with families who are at breaking point. They work with people whose relationships are in crisis, and give them support to stop abusive behaviour such as domestic violence, self harm, criminal behaviour and substance abuse. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: Better justice - how to advocate for change

Listen to latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast, 'Better justice - how can charities advocate for change?'

The criminal justice system is bursting at the seams. But why is it so hard to fix this system in crisis? In this episode, Rob and Penelope are joined by Tom O’Grady, associate professor at UCL, and Campbell Robb, CEO of NACRO to discuss how the voluntary sector can advocate for better justice. Listen to the Transform Justice podcast here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: Babylon to Brexit film screening

Come watch this powerful film, "Babylon to Brexit : A Timely Reflection on Race and Identity in Britain" [12 October, Genesis Cinema, London, £13.50].

Amidst the recent race riots that have shaken the UK, the 1980 film "Babylon" emerges, raw and unflinching, as a stark and relevant reminder of the struggles faced by the children of the Windrush generation.

It tells the story of Blue, a young Jamaican sound system DJ in Brixton, South London, who dreams of making it big in the music industry. But as he navigates a world of racism, police brutality, and systemic oppression, his hopes and dreams are constantly challenged.

Join the National Youth Agency for a special post-film discussion and Q&A featuring Dave Springer (Benjamin Zephaniah's Brother): Art & Print activist and additional guests who are yet to be announced. Engage in a thought-provoking conversation about race, identity, and the power of art to inspire change. Find out more and buy your tickets here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Women's Justice Board 

This week, the Lord Chancellor announced the formation of a new “Women’s Justice Board”, which will be tasked with “reducing the number of women in prison", and with the “ultimate ambition of having fewer women’s prisons.” The Board will be based within the Ministry and Justice and will publish its first strategy in Spring 2025. Initially, the strategy will be focused on three areas:

  • Early intervention to divert women away from the criminal justice system, where appropriate
  • Improving community support as an alternative to prison
  • The specific challenge of young women in custody

Read the full announcement online.

We are engaging with the Female Offenders and Health Team at the Ministry of Justice on these changes, and will provide further updates to the sector in due course. See below Clinks’ response to the announcement, from our Women’s Network Coordinator, Jackie Lowthian:

“The Lord Chancellor’s announcement of her intention to reduce the number of women going to prison, supported by the formation of a new Women’s Justice Board, is a hugely positive one. It is particularly important given the recent trend of a growing women’s prison population. The Lord Chancellor has acknowledged that many women simply should not be in prison, and that the criminalisation of women often stems from their own experiences of being victims of domestic abuse and sexual exploitation. We therefore welcome the recognition that attention and resources would be more effectively focused on providing support in the community and at the earliest possible stage, so that need can be identified and underlying issues addressed. To ensure the effective delivery of the Board’s strategy, there is now a brilliant opportunity to lean on the expertise of the voluntary sector and particularly the specialist women’s organisations that are led by and for women and are embedded across local communities”.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Recommissioning of rehabilitative services

You are invited to attend a Market Engagement event for the recommissioning of rehabilitative services for people in prison and on probation [10 October,13:00 – 15:30, online, free]. The event will cover:

• Evaluation methodology
• Tendering route
• Contingency options in the event of competition or contract failure

It is recommended that all organisations interested in future delivery to men or women attend as most of these aspects will apply. For more details and to register, please visit the Probation Dynamic Framework (DF) or Grants Portal

PUBLICATION: The impact of community sentence treatments 

The Ministry of Justice has published a report on "the effectiveness of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs) on proven reoffending", using 2018 data.

The results were largely positive for Alcohol Treatment Requirements (ATRs) and Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs), with mixed results for Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRRs) recipients.

These findings also indicate that being sentenced with an ATR, DRR, or MHTR had a positive effect on reoffending outcomes compared with short custodial sentences, this is in line with previous research findings. The full report is available online here

CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES:

SOS Caseworker with St Giles Trust [£23,000 - £25,000, Wakefield with occasional travel across West Yorkshire, part time]; Senior Caseworker with St Giles Trust [£30,000 - £34,000, Twickenham, London, full time]; Marketing and Communications Officer with Restorative Justice for All International Institute CIC [£24,932 - £27,711, Rotherhithe Community Centre, 30 Plough Way, SE16 2LJ, London, part time]; Female Caseworker - Women’s Early Intervention with St Giles Trust [£23,000 - £25,500, Coventry, full time]; Financial Wellbeing Coach with St Giles Trust [£25,500, Wales (Newport, Cardiff, Wrexham), full time]; Expect Respect Female Caseworker with St Giles Trust [£22,000, Wolverhampton – Office Based, full time]; Regional Support Coordinator with St Giles Trust [£32,500, Camberwell with regular travel across London, full time]; Financial Wellbeing Team Leader with St Giles Trust [£29,500, Wales (Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham), full time]; Women’s Accommodation Support Worker with Brighton Women's Centre [£27,490, Worthing and West Sussex, part time]; Bridges to Health Manager with Women in Prison [£37,733, full time].

For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

READS OF THE WEEK:

EXTRA INFORMATION:

About Clinks Light Lunch

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