USERVOICE

With a reoffending rate of 50 per cent in the UK, at a cost of £38,000 a prisoner a year, this cycle comes at a huge social and financial cost. Founded by Mark Johnson, who rehabilitated himself after years of crime, homelessness and drug abuse, UserVoice is led and delivered by ex-offenders who foster dialogue between users and providers of services in the criminal justice system. Through democratically elected prison and probation councils, consultations and advocacy, UserVoice provides ways to enable unheard voices to make a difference, resulting in a dramatic impact on self-confidence and creating long-term employment prospects. Also working with youth, UserVoice reached 1,300 excluded young people across England and Wales in the last two years and is now in negotiations with the Irish Prison and Probation Service to begin a pilot programme across Mountjoy prison campus .