Our Values and Ethos
• Integrity: We believe that an organisation created by ex-prisoners needs to stay true to the men and women on the wings. To do this we make sure that our power base, and our decisions, stays in the hands of ex-prisoners.
• Recognising the value of experience: we see that people who have spent time custody connect on a different level to one another, knowing that experience is shared lends credibility to our workers and helps marginalised people make positive changes. We feel that On the Out forms a departure from old ways of working. It is truly grass roots – and in this way is appealing to people who have rejected other forms of support.
• Challenging injustice: We want to alter a system that judges people on past actions, not on their strengths and potential for the future. We want to shine a spotlight on the barriers that people face on release and find ways to remove these. We want to be a voice which is heard not just within Greater Manchester, but nationally.
• Challenging stereotype: We do excellent work in terms of supporting others, but the real interest perhaps is in who we are. The same people who were once in punishment blocks are now credible workers, who are consulted with by probation and police. This does a great deal to challenge stigma and break down divisions. We deliver sessions to Criminology students, providing an alternative source of information which will help shape future criminal justice professionals.
• Compassion and understanding: Many of the people we work with have no positive role models, influences, or support structures in place. Many have broken links to families, have been abused, in care, traumatised and/or marginalised. Many are angry. We meet these extreme feelings with compassion and understanding, based on an individual`s circumstances.
• Embracing desistance: We work in a strengths-based way which moves away from a risk-based approach, towards one which explores how people could be in different circumstances - focusing instead on what they could become. We work to develop skills and aspirations, offering a sense of pride and belonging.
• Community and belonging: Recognising community as key to rehabilitation, the ability of a person to reconnect to the community and no longer be marginalised, we strive to be a resource for local communities. In doing so we help break down stigma and prejudice.
• Helping rehabilitation: Our team want to stop more victims. As such we never condone criminal behaviour, and work to support a person to move away from this lifestyle. We work closely with other agencies and organisations to both support people as well as to keep others safe. We help people, through strong role models, alter their behaviour to one which is based on respect and trust.
• Research led: We continue to work alongside Manchester Metropolitan and Salford Universities, with criminological expertise from our non - executive directors. We look to desistence - based research to inform our work, with a focus on `what works` in aiding rehabilitation.
