Partnership Finder

Clean Break uses theatre to keep the subject of women in prison on the cultural radar, helping to reveal the damage caused by the failures of the criminal justice system. Through our unique work, we raise difficult questions, inspire debate, and help to effect profound and positive change in the lives of women with experience of the criminal justice system.

Since 1979, Clean Break has been the only women’s theatre company of its kind, and we continue to inspire playwrights and captivate audiences with our ground-breaking plays on the complex theme of women and crime.

Through theatre workshops and projects in prisons and in the community which build confidence, resilience and wellbeing, we transform the lives of women who have experienced the criminal justice system or who are at risk of entering it.

Criminon UK is a registered charity delivering distance learning life skills courses in many UK prisons. We are members of LASER Learning Awards (formerly the Open College Network South East Region), and have four courses accredited. Our accredited course "Understanding and Overcoming Addiction", aligns with learning outcomes of the NOCN National Qualification Unit's 'Introduction to Drug Awareness', Level 1. Our other accredited courses deal with literacy at Entry Level 2 and Level 1 and a simple guide to better living and self-respect at Entry Level 2. Further life skills courses we offer deal with Parenting, Communication and Personal Integrity. We also offer a Mentor Course which gives the offender the skills to help others with their literacy and allows them to give something back, helping them achieve greater confidence and self-respect.

Fine Cell Work trains and pays prisoners to do craftwork in their cells to encourage motivation, improve mental health and build employability skills. FCW is geared to long-term, male and female, high risk offenders who stay on the programme for 2 to 10 years. Our goal is to enable prisoners to gain social and employment skills so they can desist from re-offending in the future. Prisoners on the programme work for 20-40 hours a week in their cells.

We have a workforce of approximately 250 prisoners across 30 prisons. The apprenticeship training is done by 50 skilled volunteers. The prisoners make hand-embroidered quilts, cushions, clothes, rugs and furniture covers which are sold internationally and to museums and designers.

Our aim is to enable prisoners to gain motivation and “work-readiness” by doing cellwork and to follow on with further employment preparation in workshops where they can do accredited training in soft furnishings, machine embroidery and upholstery.

Geese Theatre Company is a team of professional theatre practitioners who present interactive drama and facilitate workshops, staff training and consultation in prisons, secure mental health settings, young offender institutions, and in the community with probation services, youth offending teams and related agencies. A registered charity based in Birmingham, Geese works throughout the UK and overseas and has gained an international reputation for innovative work with vulnerable and socially excluded groups, becoming widely acknowledged as one of the key organisations championing the role of arts in the criminal justice system and wider social welfare arena. Our work provides solutions to a range of criminogenic issues, primarily focussing on attitudes, thinking and behaviour and addressing themes such as domestic abuse, sexual offending, violence, resettlement, substance misuse and offending, self-efficacy, and employability.

Hafal (meaning 'equal') is the principal organisation in Wales working with individuals recovering from serious mental illness and their families. As a member led Charity, we were founded 20 years ago on the belief that people who have direct experience of mental illness know best how services can and should be delivered. Providing support across all 7 local health board areas of Wales and delivering over 76 projects, Hafal is dedicated to empowering people with serious mental illness and their families to:
• Achieve a better quality of life.
• Fulfill their ambitions for recovery.
• Fight discrimination.
• Enjoy equal access to health and social care, housing, income, education, and employment.

Working in Wales, we support women to rebuild their lives after a prison sentence or conviction. Our aim is to empower these women to lead meaningful lives in the community and to reduce the number of women locked up; we achieve these objectives through innovative diversion schemes.

Mission Statement: To provide care, support, the relief of poverty and rehabilitation for offenders and ex-offenders who are or have been in custody, in particular but not exclusively by providing a support network for Muslim Chaplains.
Our Vision is to raise awareness in all communities of how to effectively contribute towards the vision of rehabilitation and resettlement of the National Offenders Management Service.

Our aims are:
• To support Muslim Chaplains.
• To work towards the resettlement of prisoners and prevention of re-offending upon release.
• To engage with the Muslim and wider Communities
• To provide Faith support inside and upon release
• Provide a mentor or link with faith community after release
• Provide CDs for mental well being of Muslim prisoners
• Print, design and assist in distributing material useful for prisoners
• Organise meetings for members to empower them to provide the above services

New Bridge match people in prisons with trained volunteers who offer long-term support through a combination of correspondence and visits. This provides people in prison with a bridge to the outside world, along with an increased sense of value and potential for their future.

No Offence! facilitates open access to and exchange of crime and justice information, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

No Offence! is a social enterprise, community interest company, not driven by private profit.

Our innovative and engaging approach facilitates the sharing of this information by instigating, supporting and encouraging communication and debate, which promotes wider understanding of complex criminal justice issues across society. By challenging barriers to positive change and influencing future policy, our objective is simple: to make a difference.

We have created a criminal justice information exchange service, which has become a centre for excellence, for the significant benefit of all who engage within the criminal justice sector.

Pact is a pioneering national charity that supports prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families. We provide caring and life-changing services at every stage of the criminal justice process: in court, in prison, on release, and in the community, based on a public health model of practice.

We work in more than 60 prisons and provide prison-based family engagement and social workers, Visitors’ Centres, visitor support, supervised play, catering, family activities, relationship and parenting education programmes, court and community family support, resettlement support and community-based mentoring and befriending programmes. Our volunteers and staff can be found in courts, prisons, probation services, and in communities across England & Wales.

We also run the HMPPS contracted national Prisoners' Families Helpline which can be reached seven days a week on 0808 808 2003.

Our mission is to show Christ’s love to people in prison by coming alongside them and supporting them. We seek, through prayer and practical care, to help, support and develop a Christian ministry to people in prison and their families.

We do this through our network of over 2,500 volunteers. We are currently ministering in almost all of the 120 prisons in England and Wales.

Prison Reading Groups helps to set up and run reading groups in prisons. It runs groups in over 40 prisons, providing funding for books and helping find volunteers. It also provides books for Family Visit Days. It is part of the charity Give a Book.

We make it possible for volunteers in the community to write letters to prisoners, and to receive letters in return, and to do so in safety.

The Prisoners' Advice Service provides free legal advice and representation to adult prisoners in England and Wales regarding their rights, and regardless of the individual prisoners' means. PAS aims to educate and empower prisoners regarding the law and their legal and human rights.

REACH INSIDE is a charity that has been set up to help friends and family members of prisoners to REACH INSIDE and communicate easily with their loved ones.
Our POST–2–PRISON project allows anyone with online access to send a photo and a message to any UK prisoner completely free of charge.
All you need to do is visit our website (its mobile friendly too) and send your message, we will then print it and post it directly into prison.

RECOOP promotes the care, resettlement and rehabilitation of older offenders and ex-offenders, in particular but not exclusively through the provision of support, advocacy, mentoring and advice on finance, housing and health that will enable them to take control of their lives and remain free from offending and prevent them from becoming socially excluded. We offer consultancy, training and direct services aimed at supporting prisons, probation staff and other organisations, including third-sector organisations, to build the range, capacity and skills necessary to meet the needs of older offenders in custody and through the resettlement transition. A number of our services are available through the Prison Education Framework Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). These include our day centre and buddy support management and training services, in-cell distraction packs and our older ‘Transition’ resettlement course.

Samaritans provides confidential emotional support to prisoners, either by telephone or face-to-face. The organisation also selects, trains and supports prisoners, known as Listeners, to offer confidential, emotional support to their fellow-inmates.

Shannon Trust is a national charity supporting people in the criminal justice system to learn to read, and improve other basic skills. Currently, 62% of people that end up in prison either can't read or struggle to. Shannon Trust inspires and trains prisoners who can read to teach prisoners who can’t, so they're better set up for a positive future. We also support people in prison with basic maths.

In the community, we work with partner organisations supporting people to learn to read in the same peer-led way.

St Giles Trust aims to help break the cycle of prison, crime and disadvantage and create safer communities by supporting people to change their lives. Our services put reformed ex-offenders at the heart of the solution, training them to use their skills and first-hand experience to help others through peer-led support.
We work in custody, through the gate and into the community, finding solutions to support offenders break the cycle and move towards social inclusion and mainstream provision. Services are delivered in prisons and CRCs throughout the country, with current programmes running in Wales, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Norfolk, Suffolk, London and the South East. We work with a wide demographic and have specific experience with particular groups including female offenders, BAME, young people and foreign national prisoners.
We provide flexible, tailor-made services which are driven by the needs presented by the people we are trying to help. Typically, this involves: helping people

Sue Ryder supports people living through the challenges of life-limiting conditions in our hospices, neurological care centres and in the community.
Sue Ryder's award winning prison volunteer programme offers work experience and training to currently serving offenders helping to equip them with transferable skills whilst increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem. We are currently working with around 60 prisons nationally with volunteers working in a variety of roles in over 120 locations. Many of our volunteers move on to paid work with us.