MALS Merseyside
MALS (Mentor, Achieve, Learn and Support) is based in Prescot, Knowsley and works across Merseyside. It aims to support both young and adult offenders, to change their offending behaviour, enable them to move away from violent crime and gangs, and to be absorbed back into society with the opportunity to establish a crime-free working adult and family life. Mentors help with one-to-one intensive support individuals and their families, building robust and trusting relationships, and work to encourage positive and healthy lives away from crime. MALS works in the community with people, and also offers through-the-gate support for offenders before and following release from prison.
A grant of £4,000 was awarded to MALS in February 2021. The funding is towards costs of peer mentoring and a package of support for newly released prisoners into the local community. The outcomes expected from this work include that clients will have better opportunities to remain crime-free; that safe and adequate accommodation is available to them on release; that vulnerable people at risk will be protected from being criminally exploited by gangs; and that overall reoffending rates will be reduced.
