Our Work: Belief in Work

Belief in Work is a partnership project between PS Plus, Probation, St Mungo’s Housing Association and London’s faith groups that is being managed by LAT.

The partners will identify small and medium sized faith organisations from five London boroughs which are willing to develop mentoring services to support disadvantaged offenders into employment.

We know in London that ETE work with secular providers works for some offenders. The Belief In Work Project will see if matching a mentor of similar faith will enhance the success of getting offenders into work .
We know that a number of ex-prisoners find faith whilst serving sentence and leave custody with a belief. Currently this has been emphasised in the numbers who revert/convert to Islam and follow versions of Islamic faith.

The project aims to be inclusive of small and medium sized faith organisations wherever possible and will utilise the experience of LAT and our Black Self Development project in working with such organisations. LAT’s Community Safety Advisory Service’s experience will also assist those projects without the infrastructure to obtain funding and deliver services funded by the European Union and other funders.

Belief in Work will comprise mentoring and practical assistance to offenders from BME communities through local faith organisations. Links will be made to local employers and support provided to ensure that placements are effective.

How will partners be supported?

The project will map faith organisations which are working actively at a local level to support disadvantaged individuals from the BME communities. The Project Co-ordinator will then work with LP’s local borough diversity champions to identify organisations with the capacity and interest required to run the pilot. Once organisations have been selected they will receive training and induction into the aims and objectives of the project as follows:

• working with offenders and public protection
• identification of offenders experiencing difficulty in entering the employment market
• provision of a tailored employability package which includes practical assistance such as CV writing, interview practice and job search
• development of local networks of employers prepared to accept applications from beneficiaries of the project
• provision of mentoring support for a period of up to six weeks once an offender has entered employment
• provision of employers liaison support for up to six weeks following employment of offenders

Dissemination

The project has attracted attention not only in London but also nationally; an important part of the project will be a full independent evaluation and its dissemination.

Contact

Deirdre Johnson, Project Manager, 88 Clapham Road, London SW9 0JT
tel: 020 7703 3717