Sussex Pathways

Sussex Pathways: the mutual benefits of partnership

Sussex Pathways is a charitable organisation providing a social mentoring scheme to empower people involved in the Criminal Justice System to make positive life choices. It employs 3.5 paid staff members and supports approximately 50 volunteer mentors and a further 10 other volunteers. Volunteers support resettlement in the community by mentoring people leaving prison - prior to release and up to six months post release - as well as those sentenced to a Community Order, for approximately six months in the community. By training and supporting volunteers from the community to support those involved in the Criminal Justice System to settle back into their neighbourhoods and make positive life choices, Sussex Pathways contributes towards social and financial inclusion, reducing re-offending and helping to promote safer communities.

The partnership between the University of Brighton and Sussex Pathways has grown significantly over the past few years and the involvement of students volunteering with our work through the Community Engagement module has been of enormous benefit. The case study of a student volunteer below emphasises the mutual benefits of the partnership.

Although we request a commitment from students to stay for at least the duration of one full mentor/mentee match, many will leave immediately following the 50 hour requirement of their module, sometimes only having completed our core training. However, this student remained committed to Sussex Pathways following her completion of our four day core training course in December 2010 and has volunteered with Sussex Pathways in an enthusiastic and conscientious way ever since. Not only did she successfully manage a number of mentoring partnerships, she also supported the charity through volunteering in other areas of our work, including supporting our training programme by sharing her experiences with new trainees, providing administrative support to our office in HMP Lewes, and most recently was involved in delivering a new pilot project supporting and supervising a designated group of volunteers delivering mentoring services.

Sussex Pathways recognised the student’s qualities and potential and was able to offer a varied range of opportunities enabling her to broaden her experience and skill base.

The student worked tirelessly with some of the charity’s most ‘high need’ and ‘complex’ cases and has achieved enormous results including her supporting an entrenched alcohol dependent ex-offender who was street homeless and unwilling to engage with services. Through her persistent, professional and caring approach, the student was able to gradually encourage the individual to change his perspective and build a level of trust that has subsequently enabled him to access residential detoxification and rehabilitative services. Without the student’s tenacity in relation to the work with the individual - but equally significantly with the service providers involved – this outcome would not have been achieved.

The impact of the student’s work has been to empower individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system to make positive life choices and reduce and refrain from committing crime. In addition to this, through supporting the training of new volunteers she has motivated and inspired new recruits to continue her good practice. Furthermore, by agreeing to participate in our pilot programme of recruiting a volunteer to support a small group of volunteers within their community, Sussex Pathways has been able to expand the volunteer base offering a broader reach to people wanting to engage with the charity’s service.

Without student volunteers and our partnership with the university, none of this would be possible.

Adrian Martin, Director, Sussex Pathways