At Anawim we’re pleased to announce that we will continue to deliver a ground-breaking scheme which diverts women from low level offending and provides them with an opportunity to turn their lives around. We are the lead organisation for the New Chance scheme which has been awarded a £1.3m new contract by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster.
New Chance is a specialist project for women who have been arrested, with the aim of diverting them away from the Criminal Justice System at an early stage.
This new three-year contract, worth £450,000 a year, will mean we can continue delivering the project which has helped turn hundreds of lives around. The scheme runs across the West Midlands and we’ll be doing this alongside our partners Kairos, Black Country Women’s Aid, Green Square Accord and Changing Lives.
New Chance offers trauma-informed support, group work, advocacy and the provision of advice, guidance and information.
An evaluation by the University of Birmingham demonstrates that reoffending amongst New Chance service users with mental health issues was 35-37% lower and those who had substance misuse issues identified had a 51-55% decrease in reoffending.
Joy Doal, Anawim CEO:
“We are so happy that this vital work will continue, and has the added security of multiyear funding. We also welcome the fact that the possibility of a postcode lottery is reduced and all women across the West Midlands will now receive a comparative service.
“We would like to thank West Midlands Police and the PCC for their support in making this a success. And for believing in this innovative way of assisting women to turn away from offending for good and be positive influences in their communities, positively impacting on children – and others – and contributing towards a better life for us all.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said:
“The New Chance project has been a real success story here in the West Midlands and I am pleased to be able to fund it through Anawim for a further three years.
“We know that women are all too often in the criminal justice system, because of underlying causes, relating to mental ill health, alcohol or drug use, domestic abuse or criminal exploitation.
“This project will continue to work with women, to help prevent and tackle these root causes of crime and to help and support them to a more positive future.”
If you’d like to find out more about the work of New Chance then please read Addison’s Story, Kayla’s Story or Hana’s Story