• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Your Own Place CIC

preventing homelessness

  • Home
  • Our People
    • Our Story
    • Our Vision & Values
    • Our Social Enterprise
    • Our Team
      • Meet the team
      • Our Board of Non-Executive Directors
      • Your Own Place Advisory Board (YOPAB)
  • Why Choose Us
    • Our Customers
    • Our Case-Studies
    • Our Impact
  • Digital Services
    • DigiTILS+
  • Our Services
    • Tenancy & Independent Living Skills Plus (TILS+) workshops to address the cost of living crisis
    • Plus Employability Support
    • Inspiring Futures
    • Your Own Place Advisory Board (YOPAB)
    • Mentoring Support
  • Events
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer Mentoring – Schools
    • Volunteer Mentoring – Prisons
    • Social Investment
    • Partnerships & Innovation
  • Blogs & News
  • Contact Us

February 27, 2019 By Rebecca White

My virtual mentoring

Sam has been out of prison a week. He called me this week and he’s bearing up. He is working hard and patiently to navigate a broken system.

Ever articulate, he described himself as ‘not ticking a box’. He can see support is available for every variable apart from a fifty-something lifer. He likened his experiences to being in an open prison. Yes he can come and go (within restricted hours), but at every turn his opportunities are thwarted by his identify as an ex-offender and a lack of support of impregnable services.

Services don’t appear to know how to help and even relevant professionals seem unable to identify the right local support available.

We chatted twice this week and he sent me two emails. One was an automated third party email from the housing authority. Like most who have spent 26 years in custody I expect, Sam is utterly bewildered by an impersonal automated email. It asks him to click on a link and create an account with a password. Something he’s never done before and that I talked him through.

I’ll tell you about his experiences with DWP next time.

You may be wondering about the image for this post? A former chef, Sam texted me this photo of a meal he cooked last week. He clearly enjoyed shopping and the variety of ingredients available in the shops delighted him. It met his complex dietary requirements and got him some kudos from guys he’s living with.

Filed Under: Blog

Primary Sidebar

Contact our CEO Rebecca

rebecca@yourownplace.org.uk

Footer

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Get in Touch

01603 611910
Your Own Place CIC
23 Johnson Place
Norwich
NR2 2SA

Privacy policy

Equal Opportunities policy

Equal Pay policy

Equal Recruitment policy

Subscribe to our Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2022 · Site created by Business Equip · Log in