Comments from Beneficiaries
“I would like to take this opportunity and thank you and the team for the tremendous work done to my fence and gate. It makes a big difference for pensioners like me who aren’t fit enough to do the job.”
Mrs S
“The work carried out…has greatly helped to improve our local community. The workers have made lazy beds, built henhouses and a shed for small animals, painted fencing, laid paths to our greenhouses for disabled access and all this has helped the local community to make use of all the facilities offered at our Rural Education Centre. We are greatly indebted to the community service workers as our volunteers are practically all Grannies who need help to do the heavy work at the centre.”
Mrs C, Manager
Questions answered:
What is unpaid work?
Why unpaid work?
Projects and placements and how we can help your community/individuals in need.
What happens after requesting help in the community?
It is a community-based sentence imposed by the court that is an alternative to a short- term prison sentence. Offenders over 16 carry out unpaid work for a set number of hours which have to be completed within either 3 or 6 months (12 months if offence before 01/02/2011). It is supervised and managed by criminal justice social work services.
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It gives offenders a chance to work for the benefit of the community and ‘payback’ for their offending. Offenders can remain in work and continue to support their families. For those out of work, they will learn new skills to help them get a job. They will receive support and guidance to reduce the risk of reoffending.
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Projects and placements and how we can help your community/individuals in need
Unpaid work provides free labour to people or charity organisations who need help in your area. The idea is to help those who cannot afford to get the work done themselves or have no friends or family who might be able to assist. Workers are not skilled but the quality of the work undertaken is important and is always overseen by trained supervisors. Strict supervision is provided at all times. Projects we will undertake include:
- Gardening/grass cutting
- Woodworking/bench making
- Light building duties
- Furniture removals
- Beach cleaning, tidy up environmental and community areas
- Snow and ice clearing
- Working in charity shops
- Helping people with metal health difficulties
If you think we can contribute to future projects you may be planning we would like to hear from you.
We can also help those who cannot afford to get the work done themselves or have no friends or family who might be able to assist.
We will only carry out work that someone else has not been paid to do.
Individual placements are also used for offenders who would benefit from working on a 1:1 basis e.g. working in a charity shop.
We always seek local support and would like to know what unpaid work projects you would like to be done in your community. We strive to ensure that we provide quality work placements which are of value to the community. If you are a non-profit making organisation, a local group or an individual that may benefit from having our help and can offer an offender an opportunity to improve their circumstances and gain valuable experience from a work setting, please contact us at the address provided.
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After contacting the office to make a request for work to be done, our Unpaid Work Officer will come out to see you and explain what is involved and assess the work to be done. If approved you will be given a start date.
Although our service has some tools of its own, we do not pay for any materials such as paint or other items needed. Essentially, we provide free labour.
We make every effort to finish all work as soon as we can without compromising on quality.
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