SIG Penrose, in partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), has announced the opening of a new accommodation and support service in Lambeth.
Penrose Drive is a flagship 25-bed Approved Premises for men leaving prison and who, as with all prison leavers, are subject to probation supervision. Operating 24/7, seven days a week, it is a crucial bridge into the community, helping people living at the AP reintegrate safely into society whilst protecting the public. The service provides temporary but vital accommodation in a psychologically informed and enabling environment with high levels of support, supervision and complex care.
To make as much of a positive impact on the lives we support, our dedicated staff team have a unique approach to working with them, underpinned by our Theory of Change. This transformation journey focuses on three elements to make a crucial difference: identity, relationships and community.
You can learn more about SIG’s Theory of Change here: https://youtu.be/Ashld5Y9cyc
Penrose Drive builds positive and supportive relationships to help those in our care to lead positive and independent lives and turn their back on crime. We reconnect them with their families and help them find permanent homes in new surroundings. We provide a comprehensive schedule of purposeful activities and interventions. In combination, we aim to reduce the risk of reoffending, improve self-confidence and resilience, and further employment, training and education opportunities.
Having a history of rehabilitation service delivery in community and prison settings, we know how essential Approved Premises are in supporting positive resettlement and public safety. HMPPS’s Approved Premises Expansion Programme (APEX) seeks to create a minimum of 200 additional bed spaces in APs across England and Wales by March 2024. Penrose Drive is part of our commitment to support the creation of beds as part of APEX.
Gill Arukpe, CEO of the Social Interest Group (of which Penrose is a member), said:
“We are delighted to have been allowed to deliver our vision of the AP here at Penrose Drive and support HMPPS with the APEX programme. Within our criminal justice services, this feels like a natural progression from our CRC contract, where we delivered statistically significant reductions in reoffending. The service helps build on our work in the CFO Activity Hubs and the recent Enabling Environments award achieved by our Offender Personality Disorder services. We don’t underestimate the challenges to overcome in successfully embedding this service or the difficulties faced by the people we support navigating the changing world around them. We are confident that working in partnership with probation, our unique approach, and robust risk management can make a lasting positive impact on the men we support.”
Penrose Drive continues the legacy of our founding members, who were ex-offenders, with a vision to create a charity that improves ways of reintegrating people leaving prison — teaching them the skills to make new and meaningful lives for themselves.
Read the full blog post here.
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This content was created by The Social Interest Group