Nacro annual review

Education and employment the hardest to reach‘I did a long time in prison – eight-and-a-halfyears of a 12-year sentence,’ says Danny. ‘When Icame out, all the people I’d known before hadmoved away and I spent a lot of time by myself. Itwas like being back inside. Things have started tochange with Nacro, though. I’ve got a disability – I’ma paranoid schizophrenic – so they’ve been trying tofind me a residential training course. One collegewouldn’t accept me because I was takingmethadone, but another one said “no problem”. I’mhoping to do a joinery course, and then startworking with my brother.’Nacro helps ex-offenders and others on the marginsof society to get into education, training and jobsbecause this enables them to live more productiveand settled lives. Many of its programmes aredesigned to meet the needs of specific groups, suchas basic skills programmes for people who aresupervised by the probation service, and Entry toEmployment programmes for young people who arenot ready to go straight into training and work.Nacro’s Day Services and Progress 2 Work projects inTelford are specifically designed to help stabilisedadult drug users make a fresh start.‘They know that we go out of our wayfor them and they can trust us. Thatcan make a big difference, especiallywhen they are struggling to cope.’Drug users are among the hardest people to workwith because their addiction has had such adestructive effect on their lives. ‘When we first meetpeople, they have withdrawn from just abouteverything,’ says training manager John Thorburn.‘Some of them refuse to leave their flats unless theyhave to, and others get quite anxious amongstgroups of people. They are loners, essentially. So it’sa case of easing them back out into the community.Once you’ve done that, you can start engaging themin other things, such as training and jobs.’Nacro’s Day Services, which receives referrals fromthe Community Substance Misuse Team, aims tohelp people get back into everyday life over a 16-week period, starting with home visits, and movingon to group outings with a recreational oreducational element. This can begin with simplethings, like a walk in the park to build up theirfitness, to more challenging activities, like enrollingon a short computer course. ‘Day Services arebrilliant at meeting individual needs,’ says areamanager Michael Bainbridge.After that, Nacro’s Progress 2 Work, which is fundedby Jobcentre Plus and carried out in partnershipwith the Drug and Alcohol Action Team, helpsstabilised drug users to move on to training or workover a six-month period. ‘Many people I work withhave never had a job,’ says substance misuse coordinatorTara Pond, ‘so they don’t get up until the12