Helpline - About

Information and advice on overcoming the long-term effects of convictions, from people with convictions


Summary

Unlock's peer-run helpline is there to provide people with convictions information & advice on overcoming the long-term effects of convictions.

If you haven't found the answer to your question on our website (see, in particular, our Information Hub), or if you simply have a general question, please contact us.


Raising awareness

We are keen to make as many people with convictions awareness of the Helpline.

Below are some materials that we have published regarding the Helpline. Please feel free to share these with people who may be interested in the Helpline.

Helpline leaflet (April 2013)

Helpline flyer (April 2013)



How to make use of the Helpline Back to top

Establish what your question is

What are you looking for information or advice on? Identifying what your question is will make it easier for you to find the information/advice you that need.

Vist the Information Hub

We continue to develop an open-access 'Information Hub' containing information & advice for reformed offenders on overcoming the barriers caused by a criminal record, as well as providing links to relevant resources, publications and organisations that may be able to help you.

The Frequently Asked Questions section features a number of the questions that our Helpline regularly receives and where the answers are either difficult to find on the Information Hub or are not specifically answered in any of the existing information.

The Publications section details all information & advice publications are available to download free of charge as PDF documents. These publications are regularly updated to reflect changes made to the Information Hub, although relevant pages on the Information Hub may have changed since the last publication.

The Links section provides links to specialist organisations work in/around the criminal justice system and those that work with people with a criminal record. If you know of a organisation that should be featured on here, please complete a Suggest a Service form and return it to us.

The Acronyms sections features a list of the various acronmyns which we use throughout the Information Hub, explaining what they mean. 


Ask the community

If you can't find the answer to your question on the Information Hub, you should try looking on our Forum. You will normally find that somebody else has been in a similar situation. You can browse previous questions and responses, but to post your own question you will need to become a member.  

Contact the Helpline

If you can't find the answer to your question online, feel free to contact our Helpline. There are a number of options, including completing a standard form, emailing us, calling us or writing to us. We will respond as soon as possible.


Please note: Currently, the Helpline operates on very limited resources. As a result, we are limited in our ability to deal with a high volume of enquiries. We will always try our best to help, but sometimes this will involve suggesting that people make use of our existing resources, where possible. 

Want to support the service we provide? Back to top

The Helpline is free at the point of use for people with convictionss. However, to continue to operate in this way, we rely on donations, including from those who have benefitted from it. This is so that people with convictions in the future can be helped in a similar way. More detail on making a donation.


We would very much welcome any feedback you have on the service so that we can continue to improve. Any details you provide as part of this form will simply help us improve our services in the future, and will not be shared with any third party without your consent



Disclaimer

Unlock's Helpline is provided subject to a Disclaimer.