You Turn was a project run by Revolving Doors and local services, including Durham Drug and Alcohol Action Team, Durham Community Alcohol Service and Balance North East (the North of England’s alcohol office). The project addressed the mental health needs of women offenders with alcohol problems in order to reduce their social exclusion.
You Turn worked with women in County Durham who:
- were in contact with the criminal justice system or at risk of offending
- misused alcohol
- had low level mental health conditions.
The project consisted of:
- a fast track community-based alcohol treatment service for women offenders with identified alcohol problems who had not been able to access local alcohol treatment services
- a designated ‘aftercare’ service that focused on confidence building and self esteem through training, peer mentoring and group work, with the opportunity to pursue an accredited training and volunteering programme. The focus on confidence and self esteem is particularly relevant as many women offenders have low level mental health conditions that go unaddressed.
The women further received one-to-one support to help encourage and maintain their participation in the programme.
Case study material provided by Revolving Doors Agency
“Reading this made me reflect on how the courts deal with people with a mental health condition or learning disability. For the magistrates, the key is the information coming at the initial stage so we can take such factors into immediate account when dealing with the person in court, as well as in our sentencing. It is vital that the other agencies, who deal with the individual at an earlier stage, recognise his/her support needs and advise the court.” Jacquie Dabnor, magistrate
