Community General Secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “This partnership sees both organisations working together to promote our partnership but more importantly helping to rehabilitate individuals from a criminal culture. Effective rehabilitation programmes such as this can also help improve the well-being of prison officers”.
One of Community’s prison officer members said: “Working alongside prisoners on the football project has made a big difference to my day to day job. The relationship between prisoner and officers will always be a difficult one, but projects like this out in the local community mean that my job is easier back in the prison.”
LMA Chief Executive Richard Bevan added: “We are delighted to be a part of this programme, in partnership with Community, as it demonstrates the LMA’s ability to make a tangible contribution within the community and enables our members to have a positive impact.
“We look forward to delivering more coaching sessions in the forthcoming year”.
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The unique programme developed between the LMA and Community aims to engage the LMA’s members directly with selected offenders to promote healthy lifestyles and to help them develop important life skills. The programme has become an important part of the offenders’ rehabilitation process and eventual reintegration into society. LMA Ambassadors Greg Abbott, Terry Butcher, George Burley, Ian Foster, Stuart Pearce, Hope Powell and Steven Pressley have been involved in the project so far.
Each clinic follows a set format with 20 participants made up of Prison Officers and Prisoners learning various drills from the LMA Ambassadors and coaches. The participants then plan their own coaching drills which they later deliver under the LMA’s supervision. Finally the LMA Ambassadors have a Q&A session about lifestyle choices before awarding certificates to accredit their participation.
