Contributor: Dr John Blackmore (Chief Exec, member of Safer Ealing Strategic group & ACEVO special interest group on offenders)
Location: Acton, London
Established: 1998
Contact Details:
Email: info@actionacton.com
Telephone: 020 8993 9605
Web: www.actionacton.com
The Story of Milton Wacha  Milton Wacha, previously one of the top 40 prolific offenders in Hammersmith and Fulham, registered with Action Acton as part of his probation scheme after having become involved in crime at just 16. Though at first, he was unresponsive and aggressive towards his personal programme, he gradually became more open to its rewards.He has now become an active and enthusiastic volunteer at Action Acton, an ambassador for the Princes Trust and is featured on a national Education promotional leaflet. With involvement in football coaching and customer care, he has become remarkably outgoing and confident and aspires to work in sport.
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Mission statement:
‘To work in partnership with statutory, voluntary, community and private sector agencies to promote economic and community regeneration in Acton and the Borough of Ealing and to help develop Acton as a thriving multi-cultural community, which has a clear identity and sense of belonging, where all residents and businesses are able to benefit from the opportunities arising from its West London location'
Background to Action Acton:
Action Acton works in Acton, Ealing and adjoining West London boroughs. The organisation has shop front premises in Acton town centre that functions as a community employment, skills and training drop-in shop; a Learning Centre situated on the South Acton Estate; and also utilises Acton Library and Ealing Volunteer Centre for their services. Action Acton also provides outreach services with Probation and Youth Offending Teams (YOTS), and local advisors are trained to enable access into Wormwood Scrubs.
Current projects involving offenders and related issues:
Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPOs):
Action Acton delivers PPO projects in Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham. Each borough has a list of between 30-40 persistent offenders and Action Acton advisors provide intensive education, training and employment support based around the 8 key pathways, whilst in custody but primarily in the community. (The re-offending pathways are stated by MoJ as attitude, thinking and behaviour, children and famillies, drugs, alcohol, employment and skills, finance and debt, accommodation, and finally mental and physial health.) The advisors work with between 10-15 offenders at any one time. This service is also extended to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA - who manage the most serious sexual and violent offenders) and Resettlement offenders. This scheme is a multi-agency project and Action Acton works closely with the Police, Probation services and the Drug Intervention Team to reduce offending. Ealing PPO project is funded by Safer Ealing Partnership. Due to Action Acton’s success with the PPOs during the EQUAL/EXODUS/ESF project, Hammersmith and Fulham Probation continued the funding.
Young Offenders in Custody and the Community (YOCC):
The YOCC project is based at various sites throughout Ealing, Feltham Young Offenders Institution, as well extended in outreach delivery (including with YOTs). Working with 60 young offenders aged between 16 and 18 years in Ealing, Hammersmith, Fulham and Hounslow over 2 years, the project primarily delivers 'Skills for Life' as well as other training and employment skills. Partners in the project, led by Action Acton, include Feltham Community Chaplaincy, Intuition PMMS , MEL Productions, Ealing YOT, Cycle Training UK and Urban Fitness. The young offenders project is funded by LSC and ESF
Skills for Jobs:
The Skills for Jobs project is an education, training and employment project for recently released offenders and those on supervision or community sentences living in West London. It provides intensive employment support (including working with the London Employer Accord to secure sustainable employment) with an additional training element (e.g. Construction Skills Certifiation Scheme (CSCS), customer service etc). Skills for Work and YOCC are funded by the LSC.
Safer Neighbourhoods and Community Safety Projects:
Action Acton works with Police Safer Neighbourhood ward teams in Acton, with the Safer Ealing Partnership and voluntary sector groups, to ensure a safer and more cohesive community.
Additional delivery of employment and training in construction projects:
Working with offenders as part of a mainstream provision.
Future aspirations:
- To become more involved in influencing policy and strategies involving ex-offenders.
- To secure funding to expand delivery focussed on education/training and employment.
- To partner with larger and smaller organisations to deliver this work.
- To provide training to other organisations.
- To create opportunities for offenders to become employed/run businesses.
Funders and partners:
European Union European Social Fund (ESF) ; London Development Agency; Ealing Council;The Big Lottery Fund; Learning and Skills Council; Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College; City Parochial Trust, Catalyst Communities, Thames Valley University, Red Kite. Quality Marks and accreditiations: Customer First, Matrix, Greenmark, EDXCEL, OCN
Top Tips:
Link in to the Safer Communities agenda locally with police, probation and local authority; understand priorities of the criminal justice agencies regarding offenders and offer to assist in meeting priorities/targets e.g. Education/training/employment.
Learn from others experience. Join the relevant voluntary sector network organizations e.g. CLINKS; look for opportunities to join in consortiums and partnerships to help deliver services for offenders.
