People’s Choice Award 2023 Bronze £50-100 million
Judges’ Award 2023 Gold £50-100 million
Every month, including over Christmas, hundreds of people will be released from prison homeless. Two thirds are likely to reoffend within a year – a cycle of 'Cell Street Repeat'. Without a home to go to after being released, it is virtually impossible to maintain or start drug rehabilitation, get a job, build back positive relationships, integrate and contribute positively to society.
Reoffending affects all of us. Giving all prison leavers a guaranteed place to stay when released is the first step towards a fair chance, otherwise they're being set up to fail. The cost of housing people coming out of prison is eclipsed by the cost of reoffending. It makes practical, financial sense. Ending homelessness is possible.
Nacro is thrilled to announce that shortly after our video’s release and months of our #CellStreetRepeat campaigning, the Government released a Prisons Strategy White Paper promising to improve the lives of people potentially leaving prison homeless. They have now committed to providing temporary accommodation for ALL prison leavers at risk of homelessness. Nacro now urge the Government to include a timetable for the plan and ensure the provision of move on options and flexible support for those who need it.
We see your future, whatever your past.
The people we work with are at a point of change. Many have struggled; growing up in care, facing homelessness, failed by the education system or caught up in the tide of the criminal justice system. The challenges we face shape who we are, but our past shouldn’t dictate our future. We believe that everyone deserves a good education, a safe and secure place to live, a chance to be heard, and the chance to start again, with support from someone on their side.
We provide practical help through our housing, education, criminal justice and substance misuse services, working closely with people to support them to build independence and to move forward to a better future. We’re compassionate and strong, determined and flexible. And we never give up on people. But this isn’t enough on it’s own. We need the barriers holding people back removed, and systems we all rely on improved, to give everyone a fair chance.
The voices of those most affected are often ignored, so we fight with them to be heard. We use the insights from our services to campaign alongside the people we support for meaningful changes in society for those who need it most.
We are Nacro and we won’t stop until everyone has a fair chance at a positive future.
