Working with the Bristol Youth Offending Team (YOT), Catch22 delivers reparation work in Bristol and the surrounding areas, for 10-18 year olds who have a court order.
Reparation activities are intended to ‘repair the harm’ caused by the young person with a conviction, by having them something back to their community. This could be by doing something to directly benefit the victim, or indirectly through the completion of unpaid work in their community.
We are looking for volunteers to help us to deliver our work more widely and enable these young people to reflect on their order and consider positive steps forward.
If you are interested in volunteering for Catch22 through any of these opportunities, or would like more information about how to get involved, please contact the Service Manager using the form on their service page.
Reparation in the community
When delivering unpaid work within local communities, we aim to improve and maintain public areas. This could include work such as gardening, painting, carpentry, and building furniture to encourage the young people to reintegrate and take pride in where they live, whilst paying back for their crime and often learning new skills. This work is completed by the young person, accompanied by a project worker.
We are looking for volunteers to work on these tasks alongside the young person and encourage them to open up through conversation. Afterwards, you would need to fill out a Session Report Form which is sent to the Youth Offending Team for review.
Benefits: work with young people one-on-one, share your insights and provide opportunities for discussion
Time commitment: up to 5 hours per session
Checks required: DBS check, discussion with Bristol Reparation Manager, and two references
Secondary school outreach
We are in the planning stage of creating a package for secondary schools, which will be focused on the issue of knife crime and the dangers of carrying a knife. This will involve the delivery of an assembly on the topic, followed by a range of activities that the young people will complete in small groups.
We are looking for volunteers to help to deliver the assembly, and to support the young people as they complete the tasks in small groups after the session. In particular, we would love to hear from individuals with lived experience, but this is not essential.
Benefits: work with young people and build your confidence in public speaking
Time commitment: up to 5 hours per session
Checks required: DBS check, discussion with Bristol Reparation Manager, and two references
Mentoring
Many young people who complete their reparation or unpaid work sessions could benefit from mentoring focused on employability. We currently deliver these sessions with young people once a week over a six-week period, helping them to identify their options.
We are looking for volunteers to support with these sessions, offering advice and guidance to the young people based on your own experiences, and helping them to explore possible employment opportunities that might be suited to their skillset.
Benefits: work with young people one-on-one
Time commitment: 1 hour a week for 6 weeks
Checks required: DBS check, discussion with Bristol Reparation Manager, and two references