The Footsteps Team in North Yorkshire have won a prestigious accolade for their work supporting women in the justice system to rebuild their lives.
The team won the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year at the Inspire Justice Awards on 24 September 2025.
Footsteps provides intensive, person-centred support that transforms lives of women in the justice system. The team works with individuals facing multiple disadvantages—substance misuse, trauma, domestic abuse, mental ill health, insecure housing, language barriers, and systemic discrimination—with a blend of professionalism, empathy, and adaptability.
The team adopt a whole-systems approach which works holistically with a range of local agencies and partners to ensure support provided is joined-up and addresses the complex range of issues clients present with. Partners Footsteps work with include the local authority, probation service, substance use agencies, housing providers and local homelessness services.
Over the past financial year (24/25), the team of 5 staff have supported 187 women and achieved 371 positive outcomes with them around issues such as housing, welfare benefits and finances, employment, engagement with services and children. Each one of these has required complex casework as Footsteps delivers not only emotional and practical support but also prides itself on strong multi-agency collaboration, trusted advocacy, and trauma-informed interventions that ensure clients are not just kept safe but supported to move forward.
The work aims to address root causes with the aim of prevent future offending, promoting stability, and restoring autonomy in the lives of the people they support.
The team’s work is wide-ranging. Cases have included helping mothers on release from prison to be reunited with their babies, women at risk of domestic abuse to stay safe and support for transgender women and those whose first language is not English, helping them overcome barriers and access support to rebuild their lives.