New Beginnings
New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme was developed by BNENC to tackle social barriers, prevalent for veterans within the Criminal Justice System and went live in February 2017.
Individuals lacking support or isolated from their community because of a serious illness, disability, poor mental health often due to time served in HM Armed Forces.
Issues are often compounded as a result of the imminent welfare changes and the continuing difficult economic climate. The main problem is the limited availability of co-ordinated approach to tackling individuals’ personal issues i.e. drugs, alcohol, homelessness often leading to criminal activity and behaviour.
Veterans families also experience high levels of domestic violence we will tackle those issues head on using a multi-agency approach providing support for the victim, family, perpetrator.
Our New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme now employs 1 x veteran custody co-ordinator and a dedicated Families Officer who are supported by a team of trained volunteer buddies who visit veterans in Prison and support their families in the community to assist them to build economic and emotional resilience.
The Partnership between New Beginnings ( the lead Community Organisation ) Merseycare ( Mental health partner ) HMP Liverpool ( Custody lead ) Merseyside Police , CAB ( welfare rights ), Liverpool City Council Veterans Make It Happen Board (strategic Partner) delivers one to one and group support / training / practical and emotional support including advice and family support programmes that will empower individuals & families to improve their socioeconomic and emotional wellbeing circumstances to prevent them from engaging and or re-engaging in the criminal justice system.
There are 32,500 veterans residing in Liverpool with a high percentage experiencing high deprivation and other complex issues. The deprivation reflects veterans long standing problems of crime and criminal behaviour, high unemployment and workless-ness, poor quality housing as well as a number of health-related issues and poor healthy lifestyles.
New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme aims to tackle the other social barriers that are prevalent to veterans in Custody and or the criminal justice system for example individuals lacking family support or whom have become isolated from their community because they lack self-confidence or have a serious illness or disability. These issues are often compounded as a result of being in Prison and or custody, especially with the imminent welfare changes and the continuing difficult economic climate often leads veterans into the area of committing crime and engaging in criminal behaviour with 13% of prison population now being ex forces.
New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme provides anger management and development training focusing on improving the life skills of veterans in custody exploring interventions to reduce reliance on criminal activity and welfare benefits. Another key strand is to improve the level of advice on housing, benefits employment health and wellbeing.
Our partnership aims to generate more active veterans equipped with skills to work together in tackling the numerous problems encountered by veterans in custody and the criminal justice system.
New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme aims to tackle the other social barriers that are prevalent to veterans in Custody and or the criminal justice system for example individuals lacking family support or whom have become isolated from their community because they lack self-confidence or have a serious illness or disability.
These issues are often compounded as a result of being in Prison and or custody, especially with the imminent welfare changes and the continuing difficult economic climate often leads veterans into the area of committing crime and engaging in criminal behaviour with 13% of prison population now being ex forces.
Our Approach
One of the ongoing problems for veterans is a lack of a co-ordinated approach to tackling the often complex nature that they experience these may include poor housing or homelessness a dependency of drugs and or alcohol, isolation and lack of belong to these issues compounded with poor mental health and a lack of co-ordinated support leads to some veterans going through the criminal justice system some 4 or 5 times before getting the help and support they need.
Ultimately our partnership delivers a programme that generates more active citizens equipped with the skills to work together in tackling the numerous socioeconomic and emotional problems encountered by veteran’s reservists and their families in Merseyside.
New Beginnings Veterans Custody Programme brings together multi agencies and co-ordinate a holistic programme that includes: Family and veterans’ days in Prison, visiting veterans who have been arrested and are in Custody.
Phase1
Custody Programme (agreed by Merseyside Police Commissioner in 2015) by visiting the veteran in the custody suite of the Police station ( if agreed by the Veteran ) enables us to reach the veteran as soon as possible in order to put together a unique support programme for them and their family.
Phase2
Prison Programme on a 2 tier programme. Tier 1 to provide regular monthly support via veterans prison family days where we bring in to prison (agreed by HMP Liverpool) a multi-agency team to work with veterans and their families.
The 2nd tier would see HMP Liverpool 3 months before the veteran’s release referring them for one to one support where we would engage with both them and their family (if they have one) to prepare them properly for their release i.e. housing benefits training employment etc.
Phase3
Post Release phase to continue with engagement and one to one support while in the community to prevent them from re-entering the Criminal Justice System.