Footprints was founded in 2004. We have been operating for 12 years, supporting people to change their lives and build a stronger, safer community for everyone. Today, we are sharing three of our success stories, each of which we're incredibly proud of.
*Names have been changed
Collin
We met Collin in July 2016. Collin had received multiple convictions related to theft over his life, typically while intoxicated. He had a good relationship with his mum and currently resided at her address. However, he had a poor relationship with his ex, the mother of their children, and, as a result, was unable to see them. We sat with him and co-developed a plan for his future, including refraining from drug use and alcohol misuse, improving his relationship with his kids, maintaining contact and keeping appointments with Probation officers and the Footprints teams, avoiding associating with individuals who may be negative influences, controlling and managing his anger and seeking employment. Collin continued to meet with his mentor, who offered a listening ear and practical support.
Collin has now been out of prison for over six months. He is working and no longer claims benefits. He has rebuilt a relationship between his kids' mum and sees his kids on a regular basis. He has a new partner and has moved out of his mum's place to live with her. He is also keen to be a better role model and parent to his kids, improving himself and his life day after day. He isn't perfect, but he is crime-free and present in their lives. Footprints and his mentor continue to offer support but as his needs decrease, so does our support.
Murray
Footprints is continually improving our service and support, creating new programmes and opportunities to help those in our community improve their lives. One of these is Life Works, our Voluntary Work Programme.
We met Murray two years ago. He had lost contact with his kids, was unemployed, and had no qualifications. We enrolled him in Life Works, where he took up carpentry and maintenance work. Now he has completed nearly 200 hours of voluntary work and has been offered full-time employment as an apprentice carpenter.
We supported him in applying for a grant to help him pay for college, cover transportation to and from campus, and ensure he has the tools and supplies available for his studies. Shortly, Murray is going to meet his children and will be doing so with confidence, able to show them the life he is building for himself and them.
Hayden
Footprints supports people in our community by offering practical mentoring for people returning from prison. We work with other charities, social enterprises and companies to build comprehensive, tailored and local support that no single organisation could provide alone.
In the summer of 2013, Footprints was working with Hayden. He was a scaffolder and had a home, a partner, children, and supportive parents to return to. We supported him in applying for work, and he received a job offer from a local building firm. However, he couldn't afford to re-equip himself with his personal set of scaffolding tools that were essential to securing the job.
We encouraged him not to give up and approached Friends of Guys Marsh (FOGM), who agreed to fund the tools. When Hayden heard this news from his mentor, he was almost speechless, saying he was "so so thrilled and so so grateful." One of FOGM's committees sourced the equipment and liaised with Hayden's mentor for the handover.
Later, Hayden wrote to Friends of Guy Marsh to say "a very big thank you to all for supplying me with a set of scaffolding tools. You have helped me on my way towards getting me back into full-time employment. I am working as a laborer at the minute but now with tools and a CSCS card [a construction industry qualification], I can go back into my old role as a scaffolder fixer."
Thank you for reading. We are very proud of Collin, Murray and Hayden; however, it's important to remember these are only three stories. We support and have supported countless others who are also changing their lives. Footprints will continue to walk beside them, offering support, practical advice and a non-judgemental ear, for as long as we exist.
Support us by donating as little as £1 so we can continue to provide that support.
