THROUGH THE GATE

LONDON - THROUGH THE GATE

Our London Through The Gate project commenced in April 2008 and was originally funded by the Big Lottery Fund to develop the befriending services in London, specifically helping short term prisoners with the transition back to life in the community.

Because they are often repeat offenders they can often accumulate a significant amount of time in custody, going round the revolving door; with very limited opportunity of accessing the help which might stop their cycle of offending. In 2010 The National Audit Office reported that at any one time, short-sentenced prisoners account for about 9 per cent of the total prison population and some 65 per cent of all sentenced admissions and releases.

The TTG Project has over forty active volunteers working with in groups of two or three to each offender, and together they offer friendship, advice and support. One prisoner wrote "They have provided emotional support when I've been stressed, I couldn't imagine how I would have coped with my custodial sentence without them". During the last three years 130 prisoners have been matched with at least one volunteer, who have, as well as increasing the confidence and self-esteem of the people they are working with, have acted as their advocates with the statutory authorities they need to engage with, including housing authorities, benefits agencies, local DIP and mental health teams.

We are sorry that we cannot accept volunteer applications for our Through The Gate Work presently.  Please refer back to this page for regular updates.

November 2011