Everyone Deserves A Second Chance, A Chance To Change A Life Or Redeem Misdeeds. Every Young Person Deserves A Childhood Free Of Exploitation And Every Woman A Life Without Violence Or Coercion.
These are the central aims surrounding the work of MALS Merseyside in the communities.
This Is What MALS Merseyside Stands For, And This Is What We Offer Those Looking To Change Their Lives.
The MALS Experience
Offender Support 101
Read recent press concerning Mals Merseyside
MALS Life Change Programme
MALS Merseyside has been holding the Life Change Programme course for many years. It has had a positive effect on many ex-offenders and helped reduce reoffending by providing support and mentorship for as long as requested by the client.
Oftentimes ex-offenders are released having taken the Life Change Programme in Prison and are subsequently supported by us on the outside. We also hold sessions outside of Prison upon referral. Either way, we are committed to helping ex-offenders succeed and turn their backs on criminality in the future.
But you don’t need to take our word for it!
(Image courtesy of The Liverpool Echo.)
Our Commitment To Help Others Excel
Mals Merseyside is an accredited provider of life-changing courses that have a real impact on peoples lives and the communities in which they live. The Life Change Programme is available now and is an activity-based interactive course identifying needs, mentoring and providing support to the course students. Mals Merseyside works closely with its partner agencies to make real changes for people who find themselves in challenging situations. We welcome partners who have an interest in helping those in need. Please get in touch if you would like to partner with us.
What We Are
M.A.L.S. Merseyside is a registered charity changing lives, in part, through the delivery of our innovative, and very popular, Life Change Programme. We work in the crime prevention and personal development field, helping people by utilising our acronym to the full; to Mentor, Achieve, Learn and Support.
Our objective is to work together with our clients, and where it applies, together with other agencies, to identify the roots of the problem and to challenge past behaviour by replacing them with fresh skills, a higher self-esteem, self-confidence, ambition and self-belief.
Our Experience
In our 16 years of practical experience, we have found by removing the root we change the world-view and exciting new opportunities and potential are realised through life skills training, education, practical courses and employment.
We have a bank of DBS checked volunteers with different types of life experiences and various expertise, these include both victims of crime and also volunteers whom have been involved in criminal activity in the past.
What We Do
We deliver various crime prevention programmes in subjects such as gang culture, gun crime, knife crime, bullying, and many more, ending with a life skills session. We also offer a range of services including group sessions and one to one mentoring.
It has been proven that our services have helped to prevent crime in Merseyside. M.A.L.S Merseyside also works as part of Knowsley Integrated Offender Management Team (IOM), to provide focused support and mentoring opportunities.
This is What We Are Doing
The Life Change Programme
Currently being delivered in HMP Hindley
Knife Crime Programme
Sessions being held at Mals Merseyside Offices, Warrington Road, also at Launch Pad, Youth Offending Services in St. Helens and Edmund Arrowsmith School.
Through The Gate Mentoring
Working in partnership with the Probation and Prison Services. (Is available upon referral or request).
Child Criminal Exploitation
Working in the community to end exploitation. (Mentor and support services available upon referral or request).
Helping to Prevent Knife Crime
Changing Lives In Our Regional Prisons
Inside prison, there are many people who are there because they made the wrong choices. Those choices impacted the community and they are now serving time in prison. Mals Merseyside conducts The Life Change Programme inside prisons where we try to demonstrate how those choices impacted the lives of people around them.
Though guided introspection, we take them on a personal journey to identify those choices, by understanding the behaviours and circumstances surrounding them, we have found The Life Change Programme helps reduce re-offending, mend broken relationships and help the ex-offenders turn their lives around after their release from prison by providing them with on-going support.
Many of our clients go on into employment or further education; breaking the cycle and the circumstances that originally led to their offending.
CHECK OUT OUR NEW PHOTOS
MALS Merseyside has some cracking days out for the young, and not so young!Why M.A.L.S.?
In a perfect world there would be enough support services for anyone to be able to get support or turn their lives around. It is sadly the case, there just is not enough help to go around and this is why Clare Donohue the CEO of M.A.L.S. Merseyside has been working so hard and long with the charity to plug the gaps and catch those falling though the net. Every year we struggle to get donations and funding so we can continue our work even though we have hard data that clearly demonstrates the massive savings in the reduction of reoffending and those going into employment and contributing again to society.
We are not a “tick-box service” going through the motions. We roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty by actually affecting real change in people’s lives. We do not always succeed, but more do than don’t. So this is why M.A.L.S. Merseyside has such a role to play in the North West of England. Our volunteers and staff work tirelessly to help those in need. We are looking at rolling our Life Change Programme as an online course to make it available to anyone who needs it all over the world. We are also developing our offices to provide more local training and support opportunities to people who can get to Prescot.
Finally, we would like to thank every one of our donors; be it financial, food, materials or employment opportunities, thank you. If you are inspired and would like to help. We are always looking for donations or new volunteers to help. Please contact at contactus@malsmerseyside.co.uk if you would like to help, if you need help or would like any more information about our service. You can also use our contact page to find other ways of getting in touch with us.
Memories
Our Partners
APPROVED PROVIDER FOR MENTORING AND BEFRIENDING
What Our Partners Think Of Us
Mentor Achieve Learn Support is a highly motivated team who have achieved an immediate positive impact in Knowsley. Their mentors provide an honest, concise and knowledgeable understanding to those people who have previously been considered as difficult to reach, offering and facilitating a wide range of interventions and daily support tailored to an individual need. In my opinion, in order for the future of Integrated Offender Management to be successful, provision of a mentoring service is imperative.
MALS is working with both Statutory and non-statutory offenders. This is proving to be an invaluable service in adding value to our business. The utilisation of ex-offenders is a particular asset. It is evident that MALS is demonstrating effectiveness in engaging with offenders both in Prison and through the gate and is linking offenders into voluntary work and paid employment. MALS is also providing significant additionality to offender management including the utilisation of the Life Change Programme. Overall the Service presents significant benefits being comprehensive and proactive in terms of approach-supporting offender desistance.
MALS Merseyside is working with both statutory and non-statutory offenders. This is proving to be an invaluable service in adding value to our business. The utilisation of ex-offenders is a particular asset. MALS Merseyside demonstrates effectiveness in engaging with offenders both in prison and through the gate and linking offenders into voluntary work and paid employment. Mals is also providing significant additionality to offender management, including the utilisation of the life change programme. Overall the service presents significant benefits being comprehensive and proactive in terms of approach-supporting offender desistance.
MALS Merseyside are a co-beneficiary with Knowsley Council and other partners on an EU funded project working on reducing reoffending. The project began in January 2013 and will run for 3 years. MALS are recruiting and training volunteer mentors to work with ex-offenders on a mentoring programme and are also delivering an innovative model of offender management, the Life Change Programme.
Recent Posts from the Mals Blog
Addiction
In the UK, addiction in one form or another is in gentle decline but nevertheless still in epidemic proportions. In our prison system the addition problem is one of the reasons why many offenders are in prison. Many people turn to alcohol or drugs, not as a social outlet but as a coping strategy.
If we can help people manage their addictions and lead productive lives, the crime associated with these addictions would fall away significantly. MALS Merseyside works hard to find ways to help manage addictions; providing support and education, and a route away from the cycle of decline.
Mental Health
The NHS in the UK is under unprecedented pressure to cope with the pressures of those seeking help with their mental health issues. At MALS Merseyside we provide support and help to link in those who are experiencing problems in getting professional help.
By virtue of their mental health problems and social circumstances, it is common to find some of these people entering the criminal justice system.
Abuse
Bullying, Domestic and Sexual Abuse are the silent epidemic of recent times. The rise of social media has helped identify victims by giving them a platform to have their voice readily heard, but sometimes, it can cause the abuse as well.
We try to help those suffering from any form of bullying or abuse by working with the families involved in partnership with the Police and Local Authorities which risks have been identified.
And Finally . . .
In a perfect world there would be enough support services for anyone to be able to get support or turn their lives around. It is sadly the case, there just is not enough help to go around and this is why Clare Donohue the CEO of M.A.L.S. Merseyside has been working so hard and long with the charity to plug the gaps and catch those falling though the net. Every year we struggle to get donations and funding so we can continue our work even though we have hard data that clearly demonstrates the massive savings in the reduction of reoffending and those going into employment and contributing again to society.
We are not a “tick-box service” going through the motions. We roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty by actually effecting real change in people’s lives. We do not always succeed, but more do than don’t. So this is why M.A.L.S. Merseyside has such a role to play in the North West of England. Out volunteers and staff work tirelessly to help those in need. We are looking at rolling our Life Change Programme as an online course to make it available to anyone who needs it all over the world. We are also developing our offices to provide more local training and support opportunities to people who can get to Prescot.
Finally, we would like to thank every one of our donors; be it financial, food, materials or employment opportunities, thank you. If you are inspired and would like to help. We are always looking for donations or new volunteers to help. Please contact at contactus@malsmerseyside.co.uk if you would like to help, if you need help or would like any more information about our service. You can also use our contact page to find other ways of getting in touch with us.
What Our Clients Say Of Us!
“Since I’ve been engaging with MALS Merseyside, it’s been helping me out in so many ways.”
“They have helped me to see things in a different way and they ensure that I feel valued.”
“I enjoy working with my mentor and the rest of the team. The team at Mals are great they have helped me to write a CV, create an email account and so much more.”
“I really would recommend MALS to anyone who needs support like myself for that extra support MALS provide. It is important that MALS start to get recognised as so many people can benefit from their help.”
“I benefited from their support and feel that I’ve gained some of my confidence back which I was lacking. So I would like to thank the team at MALS for all you have done for me.”