Impact Arts is set to help those at a young offenders institute to improve their confidence through art
A new project will help care experienced young men who have ended up in the criminal justice system develop their creativity.
Two charities have won a £142,000 grant from the Life Changes Trust to support those who have been through the care system and find themselves in Polmont Young Offenders Institute.
The initiative is aimed at unlocking the creativity of the young people, whilst providing them with vital support.
Impact Arts will work in partnership with Barnardo’s and the Scottish Prison Service to help young people get access to creative and artistic activities to help improve their confidence and self-esteem, develop new skills and improve their life chances.
It has been created as care-experienced young people are often more at risk of poor mental health, homelessness, higher rates of early death (including suicide), and at greater risk of offending behaviour.
Those who will benefit from the project in Polmont have also, in the majority of cases, experienced multiple disadvantage, often coming from communities affected by high levels of deprivation.
The activities will focus on storytelling, song-writing, DJ-ing, creative writing, visual arts and design.
Those completing multiple activity blocks will then have the opportunity to become peer mentors, giving them an opportunity to help others and to build more positive relationships with staff, carers and other support agencies.
Jamie Proudfoot, Impact Arts programme manager, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing a quality arts programme to care-experienced young people in Polmont.
“The nature of musical performance and writing means the Care and Opportunity, Celebration and Outcomes Project will be hugely valuable for the young men involved, offering a medium to express themselves and explore challenging ideas and emotions. The skills and abilities developed as part of that process will equip young people with the life skills and creative skills they will take with them on release.”
