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The Safer Living Foundation (SLF) is a charitable incorporated organization (CIO) founded on the 13th of February 2014. It is a joint venture between HMP Whatton and Nottingham Trent University, with the help and support of the National Probation Service (East Midlands), and Nottinghamshire Police. The charity adopts a multi-agency approach with a strong research and evaluation component, focused on reducing sexual (re)offending through rehabilitative and preventative initiatives.

Aims of SLF
To prevent sexual abuse. We care deeply about community safety and keeping children and other vulnerable people safe and the way we work is through preventing the perpetration of sexual crime.

SLF Charitable Objectives

 * To promote the protection of people from, and the prevention of, sexual crime.
 * To promote the rehabilitation of persons who have committed or who are likely to commit offences, particularly sexual offences, against others.

What SLF does
The SLF is committed to preventing further victims of sexual abuse. The charity does this through providing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.

Primary prevention, that is establishing obstacles to a problem before it even has the chance to occur, is something the SLF intends to engage with. With regards to the SLF's aims and objectives, primary prevention would include the dissemination of information concerned with spotting the signs of risky sexual thoughts, preoccupations, and behaviors.

Secondary prevention, that is tackling the problem immediately after it occurs, is an intervention that the SLF is currently involved with through its Prevention Project. This project is a recent development within the SLF and is a pioneering approach to help people tackle the sexual thoughts and feelings that are causing them concern.

Tertiary prevention is the intervention category that the SLF is currently most engaged with. The Circles of Support and Accountability, Drop-in Centre, Accommodation Project and Employability Project are all examples of tertiary prevention and they work by dealing with the impact and reducing the long-term effects associated with having a sexual conviction.

SLF work closely with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) to maintain SLF commitment to the safety of the wider society. SLF works in collaboration with Circles UK as detailed below.

Circles of Support and Accountability
The SLF provides supervision, social and practical support to people who have committed or are worried they might reoffend, whilst holding them personally 'accountable' for their ongoing risk management. The SLF help to monitor the individual's behavior, reporting an escalation of risk (liaising with police, probation and youth offending services) as required.

Six key values of Circles have been identified;
 * Safety - The SLF work towards the objective of preventing sexual harm
 * Responsibility - Holding individuals and organisations accountable for their actions.
 * Inclusiveness - Managing risk through inclusion not exclusion.
 * Community involvement - Recognising the importance of community involvement.
 * Growth and learning - Recognising that with necessary support and challenge, people have the ability to grow, learn and change their behavior.
 * Individuality and respect - Treating people with humanity and respect.

Prison Circles
Since August 2014, the SLF have been running the first ever UK prison-based Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) project from HMP Whatton for high risk adult male sexual offenders. Our main focus has been to provide this service for elderly (55+) and intellectually disabled male prisoners. This particular project is a developed version of the ‘original’ Circles which until now only ran in the community. We are proud to have initiated the only scheme to provide support to some of the most vulnerable prisoners while they are still in prison in order to help see the individual through a particularly vulnerable stage of their rehabilitative journey – release into the community Prison Circles typically start 3 months prior to the offenders release from HMP Whatton and continues for approximately 18 months in the community after their release. We believe this model has great potential for two main reasons
 * 1) Issues at release (e.g. housing, employment, social isolation) are exacerbated for sexual offenders, meaning that the lead up to release can be difficult ;
 * 2) Research indicates that connecting treatment in prison into the community further reduces risk of reoffending.

Community Circles
Community Circles typically start once an individual is in the community (but the initial meeting may take place in the prison prior to release). These Circles are developed with the aim to assist sexual offenders released from prison to reintegrate back into the community without reoffending and to help them live constructive and pro-social lives. Each of these Circles lasts approximately 12 months.

Young People's Circles
In 2015, the SLF became increasingly aware of the need for Circles of Support and Accountability for young people who have demonstrated sexually harmful behaviour - both as a result of national statistics which show that "between 23-40% of all alleged sexual abuse of children and young people is perpetrated by other young people, mainly adolescents" (Statistics on Child Sexual Abuse, NSPCC, April 2014) and actual requests to the charity for support for young people. In October 2015, the SLF received funding from the Worshipful Company of Weavers to scope out and run Young People's Circles. A Young Persons' Project Manager was appointed in April 2016 and between April and December 2016 the scoping for the project took place.

The Young People's project went 'live' in January 2017.

Young people eligible for this project are likely to be particularly vulnerable. Some will have been abused or neglected themselves and are therefore categorised as both survivor and perpetrator, meaning that working with them effectively is particularly complex. Support packages will be tailored to individual needs and last for around 12 months. Many of the factors which lead to harmful sexual behaviour in young people are similar to those impacting on adult offenders and therefore we will utilise the expertise and experience we already have in terms of working with adult offenders. However, what differs from most adult sexual abusers is that children and adolescents are still developing, both physically and psychologically, so well targeted interventions can be extremely effective in terms of changing attitudes and behaviour, and so, preventing more victims.

?The Safer Living Foundation's Young People's Circles project will work with young people living in Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, aged 10-21 who have been cautioned or convicted of a sexual offence and who require additional support to help improve their emotional well-being and decrease their social isolation. Young people will be referred to the project by agencies who are already working with the young person. Each Circle will have between 3 and 5 volunteers and these volunteers will be made up of a mix of demographics (different genders, ages and ethnicities). A Circle meeting will consist of the young person and all the volunteers. Volunteers will be expected to work creatively with these young people to build on their strengths, interests and hobbies. Each Circle will last between 12 to 18 months

In order to engage young people and build on their strengths and interests, the Circle will utilise activities such as sports, the arts and music to build rapport, gain trusting rehabilitate the young person. The Circle will focus on reducing the young person's social isolation, loneliness and impulsivity which in turn should lead to feelings of belonging to communities and increased determination to avoid anti-social and criminal behaviour. This pro-social intervention is designed to enhance the young person's social skills and confidence and will help young people to desist from problematic behaviours before they become entrenched in adulthood.

Prevention Project
This project is in the development stages and will provide a signposting, support and treatment service for individuals in the UK with a deviant sexual interest who are concerned that they will sexually offend but are not within the controls of the Criminal Justice System.

This is the first of its kind in the UK. The aim of this project is to offer free treatment to individuals who are concerned about their sexual thoughts/feelings and worried that without assistance they could commit a sexual offence. The treatment of people before they commit an offence not only helps to prevent stigmatisation of the individual, but also reduces risk of victimisation.

Successfully supporting people so that they are able to avoid ever committing an offence has dramatic long-term benefits for society as a whole. Evidence-based best practice and service-user involvement underpins all aspects of the prevention project.

Treatment will be offered to adults who self-identify as having an offence related interest or have concerns that they my commit a sexual offence. The project will offer treatment to clients regardless of the focus of their interest.

SLF’s work is similar to that of the Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (PPD), founded in Germany to provide clinical and support services to individuals who are sexually attracted to children and want help controlling their sexual urges, but are otherwise unknown to the legal authorities. The project's slogan is "You are not guilty because of your sexual desire, but you are responsible for your sexual behavior. There is help! Don’t become an offender!"

Lucy Faithful Foundation run a stopitnow project which provides free self-help and a confidential helpline.

Drop-in Centre
This is part of the Safer Living Foundation (SLF) aim to reduce sexual offending by providing appropriate assistance to people who have previously committed a sexual offence, but who are working to lead offence-free lives and re-integrate into society. This project links in to the SLF research on barriers to employment for people who have committed a sexual offence, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and will provide onward feed to the SLF accommodation project to provide safe housing for people moving out of approved secure housing following imprisonment for a sexual offence. Research has demonstrated that homelessness and lack of employment are major risk factors in (re-)offending.

The Centre will also act as a base for the current Circles of Support and Accountability projects (prison-based, Community-based and Young People’s CoSA), together with the UK’s first f2f Prevention Support Service.

Employability Project
SLF will work with those who have or at risk of committing sexual harm to find suitable employment. The employability research project seeks to identify how barriers to employment for people who have committed a sexual offence affects both their job prospects and their self-confidence in applying for jobs. People attending the drop-in centre will be potential participants to expand this research.

Accommodation Project
The accommodation project seeks to provide secure accommodation for people who have committed a sexual offence and are leaving approved premises. People attending the drop-in centre can help to feed the research into what is required where and how this need can best be met.

According to a report by Shelter in April 2017, 69% of people facing homelessness suffer mental health difficulties, and GP's report 5% are suicidal. Those who have committed offences face increased barriers to accommodation. This project aims to research the needs of individuals and to provide a safe place for people to move to after approved accommodation if they are not able to access private or council renting or other facilities.
 * Many of those who have committed offences are single males without children, and as such are at the bottom of the housing lists.
 * They face increased difficulty in finding work and man landlords are reluctant to accept tenants with insecure income.
 * Landlords are reluctant to rent to people with a conviction.
 * 15% of those who have committed offences were homeless at the time of their offence whereas only 3.5% of the general population are homeless.
 * Every accommodation placement change increases risk of re-offending by 70%.
 * There is a 43% higher risk of re-offending for those who are both jobless and homeless.
 * Licence restrictions, Sex Offence Prevention Orders and Risk of Sexual Harm Orders can prevent people who have been convicted of a sexual offence from living or working in certain areas and can reduce access to internet to search for accommodation and employment. Many local councils now require the use of a website in order to get on to the register looking for accommodation.
 * Most people who have been imprisoned for a sexual offence are required to go into approved premises on first release. These are typically far removed from the person's home based and concentrate heavily on protecting society rather than assisting the offender to find suitable accommodation. Typically, people only get 48 hours notice that they have a place in one of these hostels.

The SLF Ethos
SLF use approved methods led by qualified professionals based on Mindfulness, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Good Lives Model to help SLF service users improve their coping strategies and identify pro-social ways to acquire the primary goods which all humans reasonably seek.

SLF have a very strong research focus and are led by a highly-qualified and experienced team of trustees.

SLF use trained volunteers to work closely with SLF service users in small groups to help achieve the aims.

SLF seek to improve social skills, coping skills, risk awareness, education and work opportunities in order to place service users in a better position to be able to manage themselves successfully in the community and build worthwhile meaningful relationships, careers and personal lives without harming others or themselves.

Attitudes
SLF are very clear that everybody has a personal individual responsibility to behave appropriately in society. SLF believe there is a difference between a person who fears they might commit a sexual offence and wishes to have help to prevent this, and somebody who chooses to offend sexually.

SLF distinguish between a person's inappropriate behaviour and the fundamental person. SLF believe there is more to somebody who has concerns about committing a sexual offence than merely their sexual desires and inappropriate behaviour.

SLF have very strong safeguarding procedures to ensure that the work in no way increases any risk to the public.

Whilst SLF support service users, public safety is never compromised and SLF will pass details on to relevant authorities if it is believed that an individual poses an increased risk.

Service Users
SLF service users are as divergent a group as any other subdivision of humanity. SLF help people of all ages and backgrounds with all sorts of concerns about sexual behaviour.

Some of SLF service users have previous convictions whilst others are proactively seeking help to prevent offending.

All SLF service users are committed to trying to prevent offending and SLF are committed to doing what can be done to make this aim more achievable for them.

In supporting people who fear they could commit a sexual offence, irrespective of whether they have done so in the past, SLF believe that with help it is possible to greatly reduce the risk of sexual harm to others.

Many of SLF service users have themselves been victims of [[emotional[[, [[physical[[ or sexual abuse and many suffer with [[Mental Health[[ issues and/or have [[Learning Difficulties[[ and most have low educational achievement and lack basic social skills.

Service users are encouraged to accept their sexual inclinations, integrate it into their self-concept, and involve relatives or partners in the therapeutic process. Cognitive behaviour therapy is used to improve coping skills, stress management, and sexual attitudes. Drugs that reduce general sex drive, such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors and anti-androgens, may also be offered

Achievements

 * Awarded The Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Rehabilitation (2014)
 * The Guardian University Awards (Winner) for Social and Community Impact (2016)
 * Butler Trust Certificate, awarded to Professor Belinda Winder for work on prisoner rehabilitation through the SLF (2016)