News and Events
“The government can set up strategies but groups like Rainer are the hands, feet and heart of service delivery – without them there is no change”.
Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland, 2005
Volunteers needed in Leicestershire
24 January 2008
Local young people's charity Rainer announced the launch of a new project in Leicestershire today, which will provide mentoring for young people who have offended to help them move away from crime and build more positive lives for themselves.
The charity is looking to recruit volunteer mentors from Leicester City and the wider county over the next few weeks. After full training, mentors will be matched with a young person, who they will work with over a period of six months. The role will involve supporting the young person to set goals for the future, move into education or employment and work through the day-to-day problems that inevitably arise as they adjust to life outside of prison.
Recent research has shown that the right support can help young people to find work and move away from crime for good - which would result in annual savings to the taxpayer of more than £80 million every year [3].
Rainer Leicestershire mentoring coordinator Ruth Corcoran said that the mentoring could make a huge difference to the ability of young ex-offenders to turn their lives around.
"We work with young people who lack family support and have no positive role models in their lives. They come out of prison full of motivation to change, but they don't know where to start and there is no one to help them. They are knocked back again and again and eventually slip back into their old lifestyles.
"There is a lot of talk at the moment about the problem of youth crime. This is an opportunity for people in our community to do something about it, to start from the grass roots and really make a difference."
Ms Corcoran said that all volunteers would be provided with full training and ongoing support. No experience is required, but mentors would need an interest in young people, an open mind and a willingness to understand where the young ex-offenders are coming from. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Ruth Corcoran on 0116 254 14 20 or at ruth.corcoran@raineronline.org.
Ends
Notes to editors
1. For further information please contact Rainer press officer Lucy Jackson on 02078405627 or 07734022409.
2. The Business Case for Effective Youth Resettlement, published by RESET and Rainer in August 2007, may be downloaded at http://www.reset.uk.net/partners/developmentdocuments/
3. Rainer is the national charity for under-supported young people. We have contact with more than 18,000 young people and young adults in 115 communities across the country - including those who are at risk of family breakdown, in or leaving care, caught up in the criminal justice system, homeless, or outside education, training or employment. www.raineronline.org.
