Directory

Citizens Advice Gateshead (CAG) is an independent charity with a powerful goal, to help create ‘a fair society for all, with lives well lived’. We aim to do this by mobilising knowledge throughout the system so that it works for everyone, and powers the changes we need to be an equal and inclusive society. Being around for more than 70 years we are the go-to choice for free independent advice, concerning housing, welfare, legal and consumer issues. Support is given face-to-face, over the phone and online with extended opening hours into the evening and weekends to give support to clients who struggle to access our services during typical office hours. But we do so much more: we take our knowledge into our community through energy and financial well-being workshops; support local businesses who want to provide help for their staff and customers; and our trading subsidiary, Society Matters CIC, is fast becoming one of the leading lights in social welfare training across the country.

We are committed to reducing re-offending and making society safer by placing people with past convictions into meaningful, mentored and sustainable employment. We are a specialist employment agency for people with past convictions across Teesside and North Yorkshire.
We work with employers to help reduce the risk of re-offending and make our community a safer place. Specifically working within the construction, customer service, hospitality, retail and manufacturing sectors.
We cover everything from sourcing staff, the initial screening process and providing any training certificates that may be required. Once our candidate is in employment then we mentor them outside of work throughout their first 6 months helping them with any other specific areas in life.

Independent support and guidance of 5 tier age groups of up to 10 individuals at any workshop/youthclub or project of various topics. . 5-10years , 11-15, 16-25 , and 25+ (adults/learners in line of work experience and shadowing groups... That create a gap and void where many STRUGGLE by personal circumstances affecting their actual physical or mental ability to maintain full time employment... My way of working... Is providing the skills, aswell as Higher education vocation and Certification, in whatever subject particularly interested in at individual wish or need .. I work by non profitable means, but produce such a significance in lives of need... Where costs aren't extortionate, it's bespoke to meet learners needs and for community being with interest...bit serves purpose in lives as academic and work life naturally enhances their Capabilities and Abilities ,
All majority comes by care, compassion, nature and roled out by entrepreneurship, associated by RELEVENT networking assist

To support humans inside and outside of their cells and once through the gate with greater mind management tools.

Fine Cell Work trains and pays prisoners to do craftwork in their cells to encourage motivation, improve mental health and build employability skills. FCW is geared to long-term, male and female, high risk offenders who stay on the programme for 2 to 10 years. Our goal is to enable prisoners to gain social and employment skills so they can desist from re-offending in the future. Prisoners on the programme work for 20-40 hours a week in their cells.

We have a workforce of approximately 250 prisoners across 30 prisons. The apprenticeship training is done by 50 skilled volunteers. The prisoners make hand-embroidered quilts, cushions, clothes, rugs and furniture covers which are sold internationally and to museums and designers.

Our aim is to enable prisoners to gain motivation and “work-readiness” by doing cellwork and to follow on with further employment preparation in workshops where they can do accredited training in soft furnishings, machine embroidery and upholstery.

Since 1885, Forces Employment Charity's aim has been to help those leaving and those who have left the Armed Forces to find and to remain in employment throughout their working lives. We aim to make the client 'Job Ready' by signposting them to bespoke support required using our Project Nova network of support and tracking this via our Nova Support team prior to finding them the right employment choice.
Project Nova is an early intervention scheme working in conjunction mainly with the Police and NHS dealing with Ex Military personnel who have been arrested or are on the periphery of doing so. Project Nova works with many partner organisations including HMPPS & CRCs and local authorities along with numerous military charities.

Group Horizon are a national training provider offering full apprenticeships, traineeships and a variety of short courses relevant to the current jobs market, to support people back into employment, with specialism within the Construction, Manufacturing, Smart Meter, low carbon and renewable energy sectors. We also provide a free tailored job matching services for employers. We work with people aged 16 upwards across many disciplines, with focus on moving people closer to the jobs market.

The organisation is not for profit. It helps people with a lived experience of multiple barriers to widen their participation and achievements in higher aspirational learning leading to a better quality lifestyle, family and relationship improvements and a lowering of risk behaviours. The organisation provides expert resilience proficiency and specialised peer mentoring as well as volunteer training. We provide a unique level 3 lived experience service user qualification for working with peers who experience multiple barriers to progressing such as with addictions and mental health or neuro diverse conditions. All of the work described herein is drawn from a proof of concept of what works best with hard to help or engage people, groups, or communities in a participant centred way from a significant 12 year research and innovation programme in which offenders figured significantly (developed in 31 prisons for example). Our resilience proficiency programme has its roots in a higher mast

New Beginnings North CIC is a social enterprise based in the North East. We provide an ambitious and innovative approach to delivering social justice for people with neurodiverse needs within the Criminal Justice System.

New Beginnings North provides 1:1 support, care and guidance for people with neuro-differences who are serving short sentences, and working with probation. Understanding the challenges they face we help and guide them as they navigate the complex barriers on their reintegration journey.

In addition to the 1:1 support we run workshops that help to build neurodivergent adults and young people's:
understanding about their neurodiverse strengths;
confidence in applying for jobs;
skills for life;
communication skills;
skills for learning and
relationships and resilience.

Our core purpose is to help very disadvantaged people and communities with complex needs to improve their lives. We use informal learning and mentoring to build confidence and skills, and help people find solutions to their problems.
We are experts at helping our clients in the most challenging circumstances progress to more mainstream learning provisions or other services.
Our services are carefully tailored to the circumstances of disadvantaged people and communities . They are usually community based, often 1:1. We are successful with those who are hardest to achieve sustained engagement with. We are expert at helping people achieve accredited learning almost with them realising it. Our clients are often astonished at what they can achieve.
Our services are cost-effective, flexible, response and innovative.
If you work with people who need our support, we can confidently:
Create innovative solutions that are quick to establish
Offer excellent monitoring and reporting on outcomes.
Offer strong value for money for the outcomes achieved.
Provide highly qualified and experienced staff, who are closely supported to meet national standards
We are renowned for providing inspirational learning and support to enable people to reach their full potential.
Many people in our communities have missed out on or had a negative experience of education. For many this leads to low self-esteem and confidence, isolation, inactivity, unemployment and poor health. Services often fail to meet the needs of this group, leaving large sections of our communities with little or no optimism for the future.
Addressing inequality in learning opportunities means addressing human dignity, yet it also constitutes the best social and economic investment for any society.
We believe in people before they believe in themselves by being:
Non judgmental
Respectful
Inclusive
Caring

SherlockAI is a not-for-profit CIC who passionately believe in supporting those engaged with the criminal justice system to create better lives for themselves and our communities. We are a team of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system, Probation workers and people who have years of experience within the third sector. We combine this experience to provide excellent service to our partners. Our goal is to leverage emerging AI technology to create better outcomes for people engaged with the criminal justice system.

​But we're just getting started. We want to evolve SherlockAI into a personalised life coach companion to help each individual achieve better outcomes. We do that better as a team working with partners.

Unlock Drama (UD) has over eight years’ experience working across the criminal justice system, delivering in more than 30 prisons with groups including sex offenders, young offenders, women vulnerable prisoners and foreign nationals.

Prisons we work within include: HMPYOI Swinfen Hall, HMYOI Brinsford and HMP Send etc.

UD utilises creative methods, which offers a unique tool that encourages teamwork, confidence, communication skills, motivation, organisation, listening skills, leadership, resilience and more. UD deliver creative projects closely linked to rehabilitation and focuses on addressing dominant concerns within the prison estate such as Engagement in activities, Substance Misuse and Debt.

UD also delivers issue-based theatre within the community working with participants such as: recovering drug addicts, homeless, young people at risk of offending and ex-offenders.