JustPeople

Michael Spurr, CEO of the National Offender Management Service, with JustPeople volunteers Maureen, Aimee and Liz

The London launch of our JustPeople programme saw dozens of professionals and volunteers from the criminal justice sector filling the River Room at the House of Lords.

The afternoon began with a warm introduction from the Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, who praised Pact and our JustPeople London team:

“The whole idea of Pact is, of course, an absolutely splendid one; I mean, who could not agree with that? It’s an extraordinarily splendid cause and I do applaud all of you for what you do. Even though JustPeople has only been going for 6 months here in London you already have 70 trained volunteers ready. It is an extraordinarily noble and important thing to do. Hopefully in a year’s time you can come back here and let us know what you’ve achieved.”

Our distinguished ambassador and host, Lord Ramsbotham, then took the floor, and discussed the important work that Pact does in partnership with the public sector. Lord Ramsbotham also introduced our other two guest speakers: Mark Woodruff from the Monument Trust and Michael Spurr, CEO of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).

Mark Woodruff told of why the Monument Trust had been keen supporters of Pact over many years, and the development of the JustPeople programme from the beginning. “Pact represents, so spectacularly well, exactly the right commitment of the voluntary sector and volunteers in the community to the important work of prisons and the justice system”. Mark highlighted how the support that the Monument Trust and other foundations give to Pact, not only for its regular services but also for imaginative innovation on the part families and supporting them must play in preventing reoffending, represents a safe investment: “This is a wonderful example of payment by track record. Here is a charity that has consistently shown that it is able to achieve, attract people in, and play a vital role in making sure that people desist from crime and don’t go back into those terrible places.”

Michael Spurr stated that “This particular initiative, JustPeople, is one that I hope will go on, and on, and on”. Recognising that the strength of the JustPeople programme lies in the selfless and dedicated volunteers who constitute it, Michael praised the programme for the benefit it brings to the criminal justice system: “A one-stop-shop is what JustPeople is about, for people who want to make a difference in volunteering in the criminal justice system. People respond to people – and that’s what volunteering is all about. This one-stop-shop that helps people through the ‘maze’ of our justice system is absolutely a good thing to be.”

Attendees were then shown a new film which focuses on the experiences of six JustPeople volunteers.

On 7^th April, nearly 70 delegates gathered at the Exeter City Football Club for JustPeople’s first-ever conference. Volunteers and representatives of a range of third sector and statutory agencies heard presentations from Devon & Cornwall Probation Trust’s Chief Officer; the Volunteering Policy Lead from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Devon Reform, a loose coalition of voluntary agencies, who all spoke about their work and their expectations for the sectors in which they operate. There was also an opportunity for delegates to quiz speakers on the latest developments in the criminal justice arena.

Rob Menary, Chief Officer, Devon & Cornwall Probation Trust, and Bettina Crossick, Volunteering Policy Lead for the National Offender Management Service, answer questions from delegates

In the afternoon, workshops focused on various aspects of JustPeople. Agencies such as Soberlink described how their partnership with us works; delegates learned about partnership working and about the foundation training we offer to volunteers, as well as getting the chance to explore whether the JustPeople model could work for them. We rounded off the event with a celebration of the most important people we work with – our volunteers – and there were lots of opportunities for delegates to learn about the day to day realities of volunteering within the criminal justice system.  To round off the conference 12 exceptional volunteers were awarded the JustPeople ‘Community Diamond Award’ and those who attended the conference were presented with certificates and vouchers.  Congratulations to Steve Brown, Mark Camps, Gloria Davenport, Lee Finn, Malcolm Geall, Geoff Grieve, Sara Godwin, Liz Hand, Nick Jenkins, Gabrielle Musto, Mary Roberts and Bozena Tucker and a big thank you to all of our volunteers.

The day was a huge success, not least due to the relaxed, informal atmosphere and the excellent support provided by the venue staff.

To view some of the main presentations and workshop topics, please click on the links below:

The JustPeople Model: making it work for you

What Difference Does Training Make?

Devon ReForm

Soberlink