PCC meets mentoring experts helping to reduce poverty and turn around lives
POLICE and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen met support workers helping to lift vulnerable people out
of poverty to hear about their plans to increase help for women in the criminal justice system.
The County Durham and Darlington PCC visited representatives from The Wise Group at their
Durham Hub for an insight into the positive work they are doing across the North East to help people
overcome barriers to employment, skills and training and financial security.
The Wise Group uses a holistic approach known as Relational Mentoring to help people
overcome the challenges they face in life and to seize opportunities. Every year, the group supports
thousands of people, including those leaving prison, to get their lives back on track, working with
local partners to create sustainable routes to employment and to make a lasting difference on their
lives.
This includes high quality, trauma-focused support for women in custody and in the community
who are subject to a probation order through one to one and group interventions.
During the meeting, representatives discussed their vision for expanding the current offering for
women in Durham, sharing recent research highlighting the inequalities women in the North East
face which prevent them from achieving prosperity.
The Woman of the North Report, by Health Equity North, reveals 20-22% of Northern women
have no qualifications while Northern women provide more unpaid care than other parts of the
country at £10bn annually. In other findings, the North East has the highest rates of domestic abuse
in the country while Northern women show higher prevalence of mental illness, including severe
conditions like bipolar disorder.
The Wise Group believes there are significant gaps in support across Durham which its Relational
Mentoring Approach can address, recognising there is a need for more gender-specific and trauma-
informed services to address the unique challenges faced by women in the justice system.
The enterprise is working with partners to develop a coordinated, trauma-informed approach that
enables women affected by the justice system to access the wraparound support, services, and peer
networks they need to rebuild their lives. These could include parenting support, drug/alcohol harm
services, domestic abuse/sexual violence support, debt/money advice, housing and homelessness
intervention and education and employment services.
Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “I am grateful to The Wise Group for inviting me to
their Durham Hub and giving me a detailed insight into the important work they do to help people
thrive and become more resilient, reducing their reliance on public services.
“Rehabilitation is a key theme in my Police, Crime and Justice Plan, and I have been fighting very
hard to ensure we provide the right recovery environment for the men and women caught within
our justice system to meet their support needs and stop them reoffending.
“Female prisoners face very different challenges than their male counterparts, and have often
suffered past trauma including sexual abuse, domestic violence or mental health issues, prior to
their incarceration. It is important we fully understand these needs so we can build services that fill
plug critical gaps and connect women to positive sources of help.”
Yotta Karanicolas, UK Head of Justice Services for the Wise Group said: “It was a pleasure to
welcome Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen to our Durham Hub and share the impact of our
work across the region. At the Wise Group, we are committed to reducing reoffending by supporting
people to address the root causes of their involvement in the justice system – from poverty and
trauma to housing and mental health.
“Women affected by the justice system often face complex, intersecting challenges that require a
coordinated, trauma-informed response. Our relational mentoring model provides personalised,
consistent support that builds trust, fosters stability, and unlocks long-term change.
“We look forward to working closely with partners in Durham to shape a more joined-up
approach – one that brings together the right services, relationships and community networks to
support women to rebuild their lives and thrive.”
Detering offending and reoffending is a key strand of the PCC’s new Police, Crime and Justice
Plan. As part of her commitments, she has vowed to work with criminal justice partners to ensure
those released from prison have adequate support to deter them from offending and to ensure their
rehabilitation and resettlement needs are met.
