However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers that have been put in their way due to their criminal record.
We’ve posted the examples as case studies in the support section of our website:
We are delighted to announce that Unlock has been awarded 1st prize in the 2014 Helpline Awards for the category “Best innovative use of technology”.
The Awards were held last Friday at the Annual Conference of the Helplines Partnership, who coordinated the awards as it reached its 25th anniversary of supporting helplines.
Explaining the reasons for why we were given the award, the judges’ commented;
“Excellent presentation of the impact user developments have had for the users/callers of the service. The combination of offline and online technology brings together an accessible and impressive support package.”
“Very sensitive area and this helpline has gone to extra lengths to ensure that callers can access information and advice. The disclosure calculator is particularly impressive and the fact that it achieves all of this with only 4 staff is particularly commendable.”
Unlock’s Christopher Stacey being presented the award by Nicola from the Helplines Partnership
On hearing the news, Christopher Stacey, Co-Director of Unlock, said “As a small charity, we work hard to find the right balance in delivering our charitably-funded services by using a digital-first strategy, which is reflected in websites such as our self-help information site and disclosure calculator – this helps us to reach the significant numbers of people that are affected by a criminal record. We combine this approach with making sure that we have staff and volunteers, all of whom have personal experience of having a conviction, at the end of a phone line, so that we’re able to provide the kind of one-to-one information and advice that people with convictions often need. We are particularly grateful to the peer volunteers that we train to help us to provide this helpline.”
“I want to thank the Helplines Partnership for their acknowledgement of our work. This award is a fantastic endorsement of our approach, which enables us to punch well above our weight given the size and resources that we have at our disposal, while making sure that at a policy level our independence allows us to challenge unfair policies, and support employers and others to develop fairer, more inclusive practices towards people with convictions.”
The Unlock team with the award. From left to right, Debbie Young, Debbie Sadler, Christopher Stacey and Julie Harmsworth
Unlock is an independent award-winning charity, providing trusted information and advice services for people with criminal convictions. Our staff and volunteers combine professional training with personal experience to help others overcome the long-term problems that having a conviction can bring. Our knowledge and insight helps us to work with government, employers and others, to change policies and practices to create a fairer and more inclusive society so that people with convictions can move on in their lives.
A background to why Unlock was give the award is below
“Unlock helps people that are very unpopular. It does not attract any government funding. It is genuinely beneficiary led. With over 9.2 million people in the UK with a criminal record, and a quarter of people unemployed having a criminal record, the challenge is great.
The charity runs its national helpline in a particular way – its staff and volunteers (who all have convictions themselves) provide to thousands of people every year. The recent increase has been achieved by utilising email (30% of enquiries) and other ‘accessible’ routes (such as text, Skype). However, the helpline strives to achieve national impact on minimal resources by harnessing the power of innovative technology to reach as many people as possible.
In November 2013, the charity took its old, inaccessible information to launch a dedicated self-help website. unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/ is widely acknowledged as the most comprehensive source of practical information. In its first year, over 200,000 unique visitors used the site, with over 2,500 subscribed for email updates powered by MailChimp.
The charity turned complex disclosure legislation into a simple online tool to help people understand their rights; in the last year alone, www.disclosurecalculator.org.uk helped over 8,400 individuals. Its online peer forum provides a safe space where individuals with convictions can go, 24/7, to receive advice from others, and its online magazine provides a way for individuals to share positive stories of their successes.
It achieves all this, and more, with just two full-time staff, two part-time staff, and a small team of volunteers.”
Next information session for people with convictions – 6th March 2014 – “Will it be spent now? Changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974”
Why?
We’ll be explaining about the changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Our Helpline Advisors will be on hand to answer any questions you might have
You’ll have the opportunity to book a free one-to-one session
If you’re still not convinced, there’ll also be free hot drinks and biscuits!
When? Thursday 6th March 2014, 5pm – 7pm
Where? Hall 1, Maidstone Community Support Centre, 39-48 Marsham St, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1HH
Interested? Just turn up on the evening. However, if you do plan to come along, it would be useful if you could let us know, so that we have a better idea of how many people to expect on the evening
Spread the word
If you work with people who have convictions and you think they may be interested in attending, please pass on this email to them.
First information session for people with convictions
Why?
We’ll be explaining about Unlock and our Helpline, which provides confidential peer advice on overcoming the effects of criminal convictions
Different topics will be covered in detail at each session
Our Helpline Advisors will be on hand to answer any questions you might have
You’ll have the opportunity to book a free one-to-one session the following week
If you’re still not convinced, there’ll also be free hot drinks and biscuits!
When? The first will be held on Thursday 3rd October 2013, 5pm – 7pm
Where? Maidstone Community Support Centre, 39-48 Marsham St, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1HH
Interested? Just turn up on the evening. However, if you do plan to come along, it would be useful if you could let us know, so that we have a better idea of how many people to expect on the evening
Background
As part of our running our Helpline, we think it’s important that we try to reach people that wouldn’t ordinarily contact us. As a result, we’re holding our first ever series of local information sessions.
Spread the word
If you work with people who have convictions and you think they may be interested in attending, please pass on this email to them. You’re also welcome to print this out and put it up on any noticeboards you might have.
Any questions?
Please contact our helpline; call 01634 247350 or email advice@unlock.org.uk.
Our Helpline is now open 5 days a week
As a result of increased staff and voluntary resources available to our helpline, we’ve now been able to re-open our Helpline 5 days a week (it had previously been restricted to 2 days a week).
As always, as a small charity, it may not always be possible for us to answer your call immediately, as we may be dealing with other enquiries. You can always leave a message and we’ll call you back as soon as possible.
Generally, our open hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
If you would like to contact our helpline, our contact details are here.
New addition to the team
We’re delighted to announce that we have a new member of staff.
As many of you will know, we’ve had quite a few changes at Unlock recently. When we announced that Chris Bath was leaving us at the end of February, we committed to investing our resources into front-line staff. This ultimately resulted in the Services Coordinator vacancy, which we advertised from April, and for which we held interviews for in May. Given we were specifically looking somebody with a conviction, we were blown away by the quality of candidates that applied, which truly shows the skills and experiences that many people with convictions have.
As a result of this process, we appointed Debbie Sadler as our full-time Services Coordinator, and she started with us on the 18th June. You can find out more about her here.
Debbie’s primary role is to manage our Helpline, dealing with queries that come in by telephone, email and letter, providing accurate and reliable information to people about how to overcome the issues that a criminal record can cause when you’re trying to move on with your life.
Questions?
If you have any questions for Debbie, please contact her via our helpline.
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