Sam's story
The Prisoners' Support Team first met 33-year-old Sam in prison, where she was serving a sentence for grievous bodily harm. Many of her past offences had been for violence or possession of Class C drugs. She had been abused as a child, and had a history of self-harm and self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. She found it difficult to establish and sustain trusting relationships, and was contemptuous of service agencies.
Interventions
After being released from prison, Sam found it incredibly difficult to engage with her Offender Manager and seemed to respond more positively to Elmore's flexible approach. We worked with her Offender Manager to set up an agreement where we took responsibility for the bulk of the statutory sessions, which enabled Sam's on-going engagement and prevented her breaching her order.
We supported Sam to engage with drug and alcohol services, and with debt and welfare benefits advice services. We assisted her in accessing a tenancy in the private rented sector and helped her to secure a deposit.
Outcomes
At the time of writing, Sam is not self-harming. She is managing her debts and living in secure, private accommodation. There has been no incidence of violence for 18 months and the statutory order has ended.