People in IOM engagement project
Share your experiences and expertise of IOM
We want to know what you think of IOM & probation services. Three sessions, join for all or come for just one or two, it's up to you!
Session one:
Meet with us for 50 minutes in a private setting. We can arrange a time with you in a local probation, hub, community building or at St Giles premises.
Session two:
Join us for a workshop to explore ideas and opportunities for IOM based on your experiences and expertise.
Session three:
We will support you to present your IOM ideas to IOM staff.
How to sign up
Speak with your probation or police supervisor to fill out the referral form and reach out to Giah or Monique using the numbers below if you have any queries, or just want to have a chat.
Can't see your borough? Give us a call or email us to find out when we will be near you. Details can be found below.
Current dates & days for session one:
2023 Autumn & Winter
- Camden & Islington
- Hackney & City
- Lambeth
- Harrow & Barnet
- Hackney & City
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
2024 Winter & Spring
- Tower Hamlet Cont’d
- Enfield Cont’d
- Kingston, Richmond & Hounslow
- Newham
- Lewisham & Bromley
- Barking & Dagenham
2024 Spring & Summer
- To be decided, please contact Liz if you are keen!
If the suggested dates don’t work for you, please let us know and we will do our best to find a time that does.Â
Giah Grant
Why work with us
- Opportunity to freely and safely express views and experiences about coming out of prison and being under the supervision of IOM in the community and what this means to you.
- Opportunity to help others going through the same experience.
- Meeting with us counts as ‘contact with an agency’.
- Travel & food costs will be covered in group sessions.
- Support coming up with ideas and presenting these to IOM and probation.
- Options highlighted for further opportunities and skills development.Â
Thank you we really hope you will consider working with us.
40 - 60% of staff at St Giles have some form of lived experience.
Our belief is that people who are experts by experience, should be central to decision making about any services or systems that affect them.
Confidentiality
Everything you will say will remain confidential, we are not reporting anything about you specifically to anyone, unless there are safeguarding issues. In these situations, we may need to take appropriate actions to safeguard yourself and others.Â
We ask that all participants agree to written notes being taken in the initial conversation which will be typed up for accuracy, as well as referral and attendance numbers being recorded at each borough. There are opt-in options around a text transcript and recording anonymous quotes.Â
Our reports, presentations, and group sessions will focus on collective themes and not individual experience. Please find out more about how we collect and protect data by clicking on the button below to see the participation document.Â
We are also aware that sessions could be emotionally triggering, and will make sure we have time for a full debrief including options for support as well as further opportunities that you might be interested in.
Video Transcript
Are you familiar with the term the system has set me up to fail, do you feel discriminated against because you have a criminal record? Or at times perhaps you felt safer in prison than in society because in also called civilized society, your needs aren't met. If so, at St. Giles, we can relate because 40 to 60% of our staff have lived experience of the criminal justice system, whether they've been through it themselves, and what the pain of imprisonment feels like, or they have a friend or family member whose has.Â
So, with lived experience at the foundation of our organization, we really believe that to affect positive change in any service or organization, you need to hear from people who have been through those services or systems themselves. You’re the true expert and we want your voice to be central to decision-making about any changes that occur.Â
We really hope you would like to join and work with us. We’ve been commissioned by the mayor of London and Probation, and it will be running for about 18 months (about 1 and a half years) across the different London boroughs. There are three things we would love you to join for, initially, it's about an hour chat, in your local probation office or hub where we get to know you and your experiences, and we use that to shape an informed group workshop where we explore ideas for IOM in the future, using your viewpoints and opinions. And then we support you to present your ideas back to staff in your borough.Â
So if you are interested you can use this page to look at when sessions will be running in your area, or if you just want to have a chat with somebody, to learn more about the project or your involvement, or if you have some queries or concerns, just call Monique or Giah, our numbers are on this page, we’ll be happy to have a chat with you. You can also chat to your probation officer, or you can speak to a police officer that you may currently be engaging with, and they should help you fill out the relevant referral forms they should also be able to give you the dates of when will be in your borough.Â
Thank you for your time, and we look forward to working with you.Â