Deputy Director, Police Scotland, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit
Sometimes in life the external environment scuppers the best laid plans…and so it was with the social enterprise ‘Street & Arrow ’in Glasgow.
Jointly run between Braveheart Industries and the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, this project employing young people with offending backgrounds was positioning itself to grow prior to the pandemic.
With two catering bases and six young Trainees at any one time, the project which works alongside Police Scotland officers was being recognised (globally) as a successful model to help develop young people towards a more positive future. Different Police Forces around the UK including London and Yorkshire have visited as well as interest in the approach from as far afield as New Zealand, Brazil and France.
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Participants enrol for one year (part funded via Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) with Catering being the chosen environment – but there is no expectation of creating future Chefs! More important is the role modelling of what work is, time keeping, dealing with workplace conflict, public interactions and a host of other hidden issues most take for granted.
Coupled with the training, and as important is the constant Mentoring provided by full time former Trainees, (the “Navigators”). They start and end the day with ‘check-ins’ – where all staff reflect and acknowledge emotional state and honesty prevails! This mentoring is key and as wider society acknowledges the trauma many of these young people suffered in their childhood – (often referred to as ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences), mentors walk alongside the Trainees as they address such issues. This is a real challenge for many but it’s the individual who makes the changes – not the core staff.
The work to address these underlying needs or divers of offending behaviour are often referred to as the ‘Protective Factors’, in that they reduce the risk or likeliness (protect from) re-offending. There is a body of evidence that supports ‘Employability’ as one of those protective factors. It gives people structure (possibly for the first time in their adult lives), gives them life skills and skills that will give them an opportunity to work and provide for themselves in the future. Police Scotland, including the Violence Reduction Unit, are key partners in, and work collaboratively with, Community Justice Glasgow.
**Note from the Editor – to find out more about Adverse Childhood Experiences and the effects of Trauma click HERE to read our article from our last Annual Reporter ’Meeting the Challenges from the Roots Up’ or you can view the short film featured below.
Back on March 2019 the main base was within the NHS Dental Hospital, providing a café for staff and students. Through partnering with the construction industry sector, an iconic ‘airstream’ food truck within the new Glasgow University campus near Dumbarton Road also fed hungry construction workers.
So, in the blink of an eye, the projects closed upon announcement of the first lockdown and all staff and Trainees retreated to their homes. The Mentors actively continued their relationship with the Trainees – many of whom struggled returning to uncertainty and an unstable home environment.
As the months ticked by the pause of normal life and projects continued. Our truck within the Construction site had to be removed and stored at cost. On a positive note, a brief reopening of the Dental Hospital café offered hope between lockdowns and a respite for remaining colleagues, however it was short lived and remained closed until late spring when the NHS encouraged a limited opening to support their staff.
Through these rather challenging times, magic was still happening through the Mentors interventions – Trainees gaining confidence to tackle personal issues, speaking honestly about situations, building relationships, repairing old relationships and gaining confidence to face the world. These are the long-term changes that save lives!
Partnerships and trusting collaboration have been pivotal to the project in the past and never more so now as we look forward. The needs of these incredible young people are greater than ever and they need people, whether mentors, Chefs or indeed Police Officers to believe in them, to encourage them and prepare them as they individually seek to positively contribute to society and be viewed not for what they have done but for who they are – we all need second chances!
**A note from the Editor – for more information on Social Enterprise and its fit with and contribution to reducing re-offending in Glasgow, see our Article in last year’s Annual Reporter – ‘Social Enterprise – Circumnavigating the System Obstacles to Employment for Those in the Criminal Justice System’
