Karen* was sentenced to an 18 month Detention & Training Order (DTO) within a Secure Training Centre (STC) and is due for release soon. She has a two year old son who lives with his father and is estranged from her stepmother and siblings. Karen maintains contact with her son and his father by ‘phone but he has not been as supportive or visited her in custody as often as she would have liked. She is worried about how she will rebuild the relationship with her son when she is released and how things might have changed whilst she has been in custody.
Karen does not wish to return to her family home because of ongoing conflict with some family members and is reluctant to accept a room in a local mother and baby unit. Karen would prefer to live in semi-independent accommodation.
Karen needs help to resolve her family and parenting concerns and requires support to find suitable housing and education for her on release. A RESET worker steps in to offer extra support for Karen by giving her access to a mentor. Karen is optimistic about how a volunteer, rather than a professional, could help resolve some of her issues. The worker also liaises with her case worker and the STC to arrange a college place for her on release as well as investigating the availability of semi-independent accommodation. A suitable mentor has now been matched up with Karen who now feels more prepared for life on the outside.
* Not her real name