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Connect to Community

Last updated: 7th April 2025

Support Type:

Voluntary

Need supported:

  • Accommodation / Homelessness
  • Advocacy
  • Alcohol
  • Drugs
  • Financial Inclusion
  • Life Skills
  • Re-integration
  • Restorative Justice
  • Sexual Offending
  • Women

Aim/Purpose:

Connect to Community is a service of Bethany Christian Trust that connects people leaving prison with volunteer mentors in the community into which they return. The volunteer mentors are all members of faith based communities, and are trained and PVGd by Connect to Community. Support is offered for up to 12 months. In addition Connect to Community can connect people into the wider services of the Bethany Christian Trust which include supported accommodation, voluntary workplace training opportunities, and residential recovery programmes.

Suitability criteria:

  • All genders
  • Middle-aged adult (36-55), Older adult (56 and older), Young adult (18-35)

Exclusions:

We do not work with Under 21s

Assessment/referral process:

  • Any agency

Individuals are generally referred to us in the last 3 months of a custodial sentence by prison chaplain, social work, prison officer or by self referral. The individual is then visited by a staff member and if an appropriate befriending match can be found a supervised link up takes place. Generally the mentor meets the person on a weekly basis, helps set goals, does some advocacy work, and introduces the individual to pro social opportunities that help with community reintegration

Further Information:

Futher information can be found by phoning Mhairi Phillipson on 0141 766 0167