Is There Hope?

To be perfectly honest, I'm having trouble finding much in the way of hope right now for the future of our once gold standard and respected probation service. It's pretty clear it cannot survive as an agency for good under HMPPS and civil service control. In Clash of Cultures  I've already sought to highlight how the dead hand of government control have already conspired to throttle innovative and successful charity initiatives such as Circles of Support and Accountability and the Safer Living Foundation by witholding funding.

I worry about the future for the charity-owned and managed independent Approved Premises sector, reliant as they are upon HMPPS contracts and funding. Interestingly, I've recently become aware of one way to avoid HMPPS and MoJ completely and that is to find a wealthy and well-connected benefactor, such as Lady Edwina Grosvenor. Wikipedia confirms "She is a founder and a trustee of the charity The Clink, and founder of the charity One Small Thing. She is the sister of Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster."

When you only have a few minutes with a person you can still make a difference.

One Small Thing’s vision is a justice system that can recognise, understand, and respond to trauma. Our mission is to redesign the justice system for women and their children, which has led us to open our residential community Hope Street. We also facilitate trauma-informed and gender-responsive programmes for the justice and community sectors.

Our name reflects the value of small acts – empathy, compassion, respect – and their combined power to make a big difference to the individual - and to society as a whole.

Hope Street: Frequently Asked Questions About One Small Thing 

1.What is One Small Thing and what is it trying to achieve? Hope Street is being developed by the charity One Small Thing. One Small Thing’s vision is a justice system that can recognise, understand, and respond to trauma. Our mission is to redesign the justice system for women and their children. We have three work strands: 

Redesign the way the justice system responds to women and their children in a way that can be replicated and scaled nationally. 

Educate prison residents to understand how trauma can affect them and equip them with the skills to respond; and train frontline staff to understand and respond effectively to trauma and adversity. 

Influence politicians and policy makers to encourage culture change across the justice system and the people who work within it. 

2.Who is involved? One Small Thing is a charity led by CEO Claire Hubberstey. The charity was founded by Edwina Grosvenor who is the Chair of Trustees. One Small Thing involves a number of leading advisers and experts in the area including Dr Stephanie Covington.

3.When was it set up? One Small Thing has been leading trauma informed work in the UK for eight years, and became an independent charity in 2018 (registered Charity Number 1180782). One Small Thing is a registered company limited by guarantee (Company No. 11516337). 

4.How is it funded? One Small Thing is supported by several generous funders, donors and philanthropists, and through its training offer. 

5.What is One Small Thing’s relationship with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and organisations like the Prison Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Police and other stakeholders involved in the justice system? One Small Thing is a separate and independent charity committed to working with Government and partners across the sector to make a positive difference. We work with the MoJ to support and improve the justice system and make it more effective. Through our policy and influencing work, we respond to and challenge national policy and systems where relevant. Improving the justice system requires input from a wide range of stakeholders. We work with stakeholders at all levels in pursuit of our mission to redesign the justice system for women and their children. We take a collaborative approach and recognise the benefits of multi-agency involvement.

6.What is Hope Street? One Small Thing has built Hope Street, a residential community for women and their children in Hampshire. Hope Street pilots a new approach to working with women involved in the justice system. From within a healing, trauma-informed, residential environment, women and their children have access to a range of specialist support including mental health, domestic abuse and substance use services. At Hope Street women have access to: 

• A safe, 24 hour staffed residential Hub, purpose built and specifically designed to create a trauma informed and trauma responsive environment for women and their children 
• Individually tailored programmes designed to enable women to address a wide range of issues in their lives that have resulted in them becoming involved with the justice system 
• Eleven move-on supported Hope Houses for women leaving the Hub in preparation for return to their own home 
• Ongoing outreach community-based support for women and their families once they have returned to their own home.

Hope Street is also for the local community to access a community café space and group activities. As well as the improved wellbeing of women and children, and benefits to the community, by working with women to rebuild their lives, we will also see a reduction in crime and reoffending. 

7.Why is it needed? Research has shown that 72% of women entering prison in England and Wales to serve a sentence have committed a non-violent offence They have invariably been victims of life-long neglect, abuse and disadvantage with a third having been in care as children. 60% of women receiving short prison sentences are mothers: their children then end up in care and they lose their homes.

After a short sentence, of only a few weeks, they are left with no family and no home and in a much worse situation, compounded by the trauma of prison and with little support to assist them in rebuilding their lives. A gender-specific and community-based alternative is needed if we are to create a more effective, successful and supportive pathway for women. The core and root issues addressed with a trauma informed approach ultimately means better outcomes for women and their children. Hope Street is backed by the evidence and is in line with Government policy: In June 2018, the Government’s Female Offender Strategy identified four strategic priorities: 

• fewer women entering the justice system; 
• fewer women in custody, especially on short-term sentences; 
• more women managed in the community successfully; 
• better conditions for women in custody. 

In June 2019 the Farmer Review for Women was published, and throughout the report there is huge emphasis on the urgent need to deliver a viable alternative to custody for most women who commit non-violent crimes but who invariably end up in our prison system. 

8.How is what you are providing different to the Governments planned Residential Women’s Centres (RWCs)? Plans for the Government’s Residential Women’s Centre released so far suggests it will be run by Probation and accommodate all women who would have been sentenced for 12 months or less. The provision will be short stay accommodation with a 12-week course. Hope Street is different because:

• The Government’s residential women’s centre is proposed to house women who would have gone on to receive a short custodial sentence. This misses a large group of women. Women will be able to stay at Hope Street instead of being unnecessarily sent to custody on remand prior to sentencing, if they are eligible for release from prison but this is not possible due to lack of accommodation, or so they can complete community service with somewhere safe and supportive to stay. We know 20% of women in prison are on remand3 and in July 2021 77% of women leaving the largest women’s prison in England and Wales faced homelessness.
• Hope Street will include a network of housing, Hope Houses, across Hampshire, allowing us to support many more women and over the long term rather than for just a 12 week period. 
• Services will be run by One Small Thing as an independent charity. This means that our priority can be the women we support rather than meeting any external targets. Women from minoritised groups who may have distrust of Government services, can be reassured that we are independent. By taking a positive, compassionate and trauma-informed approach, the aim is to achieve better outcomes for women, their children and society. 

9.Who is it for? Hope Street aims to be a community-based alternative to women receiving short custodial sentences, being unnecessarily imprisoned on remand or released to homelessness. Most women being sent to prison are without question some of the most disadvantaged in our society, have not committed violent offences and are not a risk to society: 

• Most women entering prison to serve a sentence (72%) have committed a nonviolent offence. 
• More women are sent to prison to serve a sentence for theft than for violence against the person, robbery, sexual offences, fraud, drugs, and motoring offences combined. 
•  51% of women were sentenced to six months and 64% of women were sentenced to 12 months or less April to June 2021.  
• More than 17,500 children were estimated to be separated from their mother by imprisonment in 2020. 
• Nearly 60% of women in prison and under community supervision in England and Wales are victims of domestic abuse. This is likely to be an underestimate because many women fear disclosing abuse.  
• Nearly half of women reported needing help with a drug problem on entry to prison—compared with nearly three in 10 men.
• Women are much more likely than men to self-harm whilst in prison. In 2020, women made up 22% of all self-harm incidents despite making up only 4% of the prison population.

10.Why Southampton? Of the 877 women arrested in Hampshire between 1 st November 2018 and 31st October 2019, 33% were from Southampton. Women from Southampton who receive a custodial sentence are sent out of area, often more than 60 miles away from their home, making it very difficult for their children and families to visit them. It therefore makes sense to prioritise Southampton as the preferred location for the Hope Street Hub because it has the greatest need. This is a significant region and it is not well-served at present, so there is an opportunity to make a positive difference. 

11.Who runs it? Hope Street is run by a team that will include a range of multi-disciplinary practitioners, colocated staff from a range of other agencies and partner organisations. The Hope Street team work closely with the council and health services as well as other voluntary sector agencies to ensure effective multi-agency working. We work in partnership with other local specialist services, to draw on their skills and expertise and to avoid duplication. We have extensively discussed our plans with both the statutory and voluntary services in the area. We deliver 1:1 support and group activities to women on Probation as part of the Hampshire Probation contract in partnership with the charity Advance and have built up strong local working partnerships through this work.

12.How do you provide for women with children? Hope Street provides family accommodation for women with their children wherever it is deemed appropriate following assessment to do so. We have flats that can accommodate women with their children at the Hub and provide play and support services for children on site. 

We know that maternal separation is traumatic for children and causes stress and trauma, which in many cases has a life-long impact. By removing the trauma of separation, the mental health and well-being of children are not put at risk. Keeping families together where it is in children’s best interests, is enshrined in UK law and is something we are proud to champion.

The offer of a safe residential option where children can continue to live with their mothers and be supported as a family will enable the courts to make better sentencing decisions and contribute to the aim of breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma and vulnerability. 

We assess, with social services and other agencies, whether a woman who is eligible for Hope Street has dependent children who should accompany her. Subject to assessment and capacity, we will accommodate whatever number of children we need to, subject to having space, and will provide onsite childcare facilities to look after them while she is undertaking her treatment or training programmes. 

13.How many women will Hope Street support? The Hope Street Hub can accommodate up to 24 women – plus children - at any one time in shared flats. When including the network of Hope Houses, our ambition is that Hope Street Hampshire will accommodate 124 women and their children, with another 500 women accessing services on a day basis. 

14.How much will it cost? Constructing the centre has cost approximately £7.5m with around £3m per year needed to cover the operating costs across the Hope Street Hub and housing pathway. The costs were modelled on other public services and come in significantly less, for instance than a residential facility in the NHS. We estimate one year’s support to cost a quarter of what it costs to send a women to prison for 12 months. Hope Street aims to significantly reduce the overall cost to the public purse by addressing the root causes of the issues the women face, equipping them with skills and giving them an opportunity to build a new life and take a productive role in society.

15.Who is funding Hope Street? Hope Street is being made possible thanks to the generous support of our funders, major donors and philanthropists. We are in the process of securing the capital cost for the site and build plus 5 years running costs.

16.What taxpayer money is involved in building Hope Street if any? No taxpayer money is involved in the capital cost of the Hope Street Hub being established in Southampton. 

17.Where is the Hope Street Hub site? We have a site in Southampton situated in a community of other service providers and which is close to public transport.

18.What consultation have you undertaken? We have consulted with those with lived experience, members of the local and county council and local stakeholders in order to help us shape the Hope Street Hub so it can be a truly valuable community resource serving the needs of women and children affected by and at risk of trauma. The development of Hope Street has evolved over a number of years and has involved a range of experts, service providers and women with lived experience. 

19.What about neighbours directly affected? Our aim for Hope Street is that it is an asset to the local community and involve neighbours in accessing its facilities. The planning application process involved consultation with all directly affected and an invitation to submit views as part of the consultation process. We constructed the Hope Street Hub as considerately as possible and keep interested parties up to date on developments. 

20.What does the Hub look like? Who has designed it? The development of Hope Street has involved long term planning involving scoping out of the project, design principles and work on site specific design. After a thorough tendering process involving a range of local architects we appointed SNUG to work with us and in collaboration with Focus Design and Harris Bugg Studio to deliver an integrated healing environment. All have track records of collaborative and sensitive approaches. The Hope Street Hub is filled with natural light and greenery to create a calming and inspiring environment that allows for private reflection, healing and recovery as well as shared experiences. 

21.What is special or bespoke about the design? The Hope Street Hub is the first of its kind in the UK being specifically designed with women to meet the needs of women and to be trauma informed in both design and build. The design of the building is sympathetic to its locality and embodies the values of One Small Thing by promoting an environment through its design principles that enables compassion, understanding, respect, equality and justice. As a community asset, the Hope Street Hub hosts a community café and group activities such as keep fit classes

Hope Street was created along gender-specific and trauma-informed principles. This aims to recognise that the women who will be resident have experienced severe trauma, often since early childhood, and that this trauma needs to be addressed if the individual is to be able to achieve profound and long-term change to their lives. 

22. Is the Hub open? The Build is now complete and Hope Street's Official Opening by HRH The Princess of Wales took place at the end of June 2023.