Jake*is a young man now in the community after spending three months in custody. He found the custodial part of his sentence very difficult to cope with and was placed on self harm watch in custody. With time, he gradually adjusted to life inside and started to think about his resettlement plans.
Jake was interested in work in the construction industry or the armed forces and the YOI based Connexions service looked at these options for him. Although information was exchanged between the community and custodial based Connexions services, nothing was finalised for him. Because of time constraints the community based Connexions were unable to visit Jake in custody causing further frustration and resentment for the young man.
Realising there was a gap in the support this young man was receiving, a RESET worker met with Jake to look at other options such as the “Entry to Employment” programme. The worker contacted the “YMCA E2E” initiative and they agreed to organise a placement for him. Jake was interviewed on the day after his release for the course and although he declined the place because of issues with his training allowance, he was motivated by this experience and support from the RESET worker to look for other employment.
* Not his real name