11 July 2024 –
LandWorks is beyond excited to announce that we won the ‘Overall Award for Excellence’ at this year’s Charity Awards, the longest-running and most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector.
Not only did we take the top prize in the Social Care, Advice & Support category, but LandWorks was also chosen as the Overall Winner by this year’s judges for our pioneering work helping people coming out of prison or serving community sentences to develop a crime-free identity beyond the criminal justice system.
LandWorks founder and director Chris Parsons, and LandWorks PeN Project lead Dr Julie Parsons, were presented with the awards at a gala ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on 9 July.
The Charity Awards are chosen by an independent panel of 17 expert judges, themselves all eminent figures in the charity sector. The judges said they were impressed by the way LandWorks builds trust with its trainees and helps them to rebuild their lives by understanding the experiences that led to their criminal behaviour in the first place.
Anne Fox, CEO at Clinks, described LandWorks as a highly innovative model of tackling recidivism: “The way that they have created that community, it’s just different gravy, it really is. There’s just something nice about how they work – they’re very, very person-centred. And because of politically where we are right now, any work supporting people to leave the criminal justice system that focuses on their right to do so in a positive way, really needs to be celebrated. It isn’t even the economic argument that we need to make, it’s the argument that it’s ok to invest in offenders.”
Dr Priya Singh, chair of NCVO, said: “This is not just about how you get a job after you come out of prison. This is about how you turn your life around, how you become a new you – then a job will come. That’s what so powerful about this programme.”
Martin Edwards, CEO of Julia’s House, added: “They are doing everything right. The way they treat people with dignity and respect is so important, and they have a model that works. It seems to me that if you were just out of prison, this is the best place you could land.”
Matt Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media which organises the awards, congratulated LandWorks saying: “At a time when our prisons are in crisis and too many offenders are largely consigned to the scrapheap, LandWorks refuses to give up on people. Its person-centred and highly effective approach to resettlement looks beyond the ‘offender’ label and supports people to navigate a way out to a life beyond crime. It has proved to be sustainable, successful, and scalable, and we are delighted to award it our highest honour. We can only hope that ministers will also see its potential and take it to the next level.”
Reflecting on a fantastic night for LandWorks, Chris Parsons said: “We were surprised enough to win our category, but to then go on to win the overall award is just amazing. We’d like to thank the judges who clearly understood what LandWorks is all about.”
“This is recognition for our team, volunteers and supporters – and for our funders whose belief in the project, and willingness to back us early on, made it all possible. Perhaps more than anything it is recognition of all the men and women who have been on placement at LandWorks and worked so hard to turn their lives around. It is not easy to change things when you’ve become involved in crime and offending, but it is possible.
“I hope that we have shown that there is a different way of doing things in the criminal justice system that works and that is in everyone’s interest. With the right support, people can transform their lives and reoffending can be avoided. We hope we can take our message to MPs and Ministers in the new parliament.”