A ground-breaking scheme which diverts women from low level offending and provides them with an opportunity to turn their lives around, has been awarded a £1.3m new contract by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster.
The New Chance scheme is a specialist project for women who have been arrested, with the aim of diverting them away from the Criminal Justice System at an early stage.
A new three-year contract, worth £450,000 a year, has been awarded to Birmingham based women’s charity Anawim, to continue delivering the project which has helped turn hundreds of lives around. Anawim will deliver the scheme alongside key partners Kairos, Black Country Women’s Aid, Green Square Accord and Changing Lives.
New Chance offers trauma-informed support, group work, advocacy and the provision of advice, guidance and information.
An evaluation by the University of Birmingham demonstrates that reoffending amongst New Chance service users with mental health issues was 35-37% lower and those who had substance misuse issues identified had a 51-55% decrease in reoffending.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “The New Chance project has been a real success story here in the West Midlands and I am pleased to be able to fund it through Anawim for a further three years.
“We know that women are all too often in the criminal justice system, because of underlying causes, relating to mental ill health, alcohol or drug use, domestic abuse or criminal exploitation.
“This project will continue to work with women, to help prevent and tackle these root causes of crime and to help and support them to a more positive future.”
Joy Doal, Anawim CEO: “We are so happy that this vital work will continue, and has the added security of multiyear funding. We also welcome the fact that the possibility of a postcode lottery is reduced and all women across the West Midlands will now receive a comparative service.
“We would like to thank West Midlands Police and the PCC for their support in making this a success. And for believing in this innovative way of assisting women to turn away from offending for good and be positive influences in their communities, positively impacting on children – and others – and contributing towards a better life for us all.”
Below, we have a case study from Anawim with one of the women who has been supported through the New Chance scheme. Her identity has been concealed at her request as she continues to build a better future.
“My client was referred following being arrested for the harassment of her neighbour. Whilst in custody she expressed needing all the help she could get and was referred into New Chance.
“She was hard to get in touch with initially but once first contact was made she was very eager to engage and get support from her New Chance caseworker and advised that my call had ‘made her day’.
“On our first appointment, she disclosed some of her trauma and disclosed domestic abuse in the past and has disclosed being raped by him. During our appointment we made a referral for additional support from RSVP (the Rape and Sexual Violence Project). Client has told me that I was the first person she felt comfortable in disclosing this as she kept it a secret for a year and was struggling with it.
“She also disclosed being the victim of a crime from someone living at her property resulting in damage to the property and some of her items being stolen which contributed to the offence.
“We supported her to access the centre by providing her with a 3-month Swift bus pass, she loved seeing the centre and the courses and activities on offer. She expressed wanting to get a job and was supported to find employment through Working Chance and will be supported throughout this process.
“We have also supported her in applying for and being granted the Household Support Fund to assist her financially. She is currently attending 2 courses at Anawim alongside with our usual drop-in groups (gardening and or/ any other events we have going on). Client states that she loves Anawim, has found it so helpful and, in comparison with when she first came to Anawim, she is in such a better place now as she is now allowing herself to focus on her wellbeing.”
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