Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea’s InsideOut programme will close its doors on 26 August 2026, having supported more than a thousand people with criminal records to change their lives since 2004. Austerity, and changes to the priorities of many of the trusts and foundations that support people with convictions most consistently, has made a local, non-specialist service unsustainable, however effective.
InsideOut has enabled dozens of people with complex needs to find stability, set and achieve their goals, and reintegrate into their communities every year. The programme has constantly adapted to changes in government policy, emerging challenges within the criminal justice system, and significant shifts in the funding landscape. In the current moment, the need for programmes like InsideOut is more acute than ever. The overcrowding crisis in prisons and the developing impact of the new early release scheme and Sentencing Act on an already overburdened Probation Service is reflected in the daily experiences of our clients.
What We Achieved with the Programme:
Having started as InsideOut Coordinator at VCKC in August 2025, I’ve endeavoured to maintain the programme’s strong track-record of providing vital practical and emotional support around the time of release to people that face significant barriers to employment. One of the central aims of the programme has always been to help those with criminal records to find and secure work, volunteering, and training placements, knowing how important these opportunities are for helping people break out of a cycle of reoffending.
From January to July of 2026, we helped find 55 such placements for InsideOut clients. Meanwhile, only 13% of InsideOut clients (2025-26) reoffended within one year of release, less than half the national average.
Numbers like these are testament to the positive impact InsideOut has had on some of the most marginalized and vulnerable people in our society, built on the deep and often long-lasting relationships we have nurtured with individual clients. We have had the immense privilege of walking alongside people on their inspiring journeys from prison through the stabilisation period after release and then as they go on to flourish by setting and achieving their goals.
A Brigde between Lived Experience and Civic Participation
During my year as Coordinator, I brought InsideOut into closer alignment with VCKC’s mission, supporting people who want to contribute to the community, especially those who wished to draw directly on their lived experience of criminalisation to do this. Reflecting this shift, in just four months this year we supported 14 clients to harness their lived experience to give back in some way.
Examples ranged from those who incorporated their own life story into a new business to those who mentored or supported others and those who have influenced volunteer-involving organisations to enable prevention and rehabilitation rather than punishment. One client, Conor, recently joined me in co-facilitating a training session for volunteer managers focused on supporting inclusive volunteering practices for people with convictions. He received extraordinarily positive feedback. Programmes that facilitate and empower people with direct experience of the sharp end of the criminal justice system are vital, enabling them to shape both policy and practice within the voluntary sector, and across related areas like substance misuse, youth violence, and mental health.
Volunteer Centres and other local infrastructure organisations must continue to play a key role in meeting this specific and growing need, given their ability to connect local communities, statutory services, and voluntary organisations to tackle complex challenges. This makes it all the more frustrating that funding has become so scarce for grassroots programmes like InsideOut and organisations like VCKC.
The Road Ahead
Although InsideOut is closing, we will continue to work to ensure that everyone in our community is able to volunteer their time to help others, giving them the chance to live independent, fulfilling lives. We intend to continue to do what we can to help people with convictions to achieve that for years to come. Though it will no longer have a specialist programme dedicated to providing long-term, 1:1 support to this group, VCKC will continue to enable people with criminal records who live in Kensington & Chelsea to volunteer and use volunteering as a pathway to personal development and employment, in line with its mission.
For more information about InsideOut and the other programmes at VCKC, please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required.
