Letter Box Reparation – Sheffield and Rotherham Youth Justice Services (April 2020)
| Summary: | Details of ‘letter box’ reparation programme which sees children completing letters etc. for those most vulnerable people in the local community. |
Description:
Prior to lockdown Sheffield and Rotherham services, in partnership with Remedi* agreed to make up creative packs to deliver to children so that they would be able to continue to complete their reparation from home. The packs included card making, poster making, game making and letter writing resources, which were put together using guidance sheet, coloured pens, paper, stickers, plain cards and envelopes.
Remedi practitioners then contact the children and provide them with support in completing the packs over the telephone. Once the tasks are completed, the children email or text Remedi photographs of their work. Where appropriate Remedi practitioners collect the work from the children at an agreed time and date (left on the doorstep to avoid contact). Practitioners also that the opportunity to have a short session with the children.
The letters, cards, posters etc. that the children are producing are being sent to people in isolation electronically to help to cheer them up, including NHS staff.
Remedi have already established links in local care homes, therefore a lot of their focus has been there. The letters have been very well received by residents and staff.
Sheffield and Rotherham services, in partnership with Remedi are considering a ‘pen-pal’ service between care home residents and the children as a regular type of reparation programme.
The youth justice services have shared one of the letters that was written by a child taking part in the programme which, following being tweeted by Remedi, was picked up by Radio Sheffield. This resulted in the child who had written the letter, recording himself reading the letter.
*Please note that Remedi runs Sheffield and Rotherham Youth Justice Services’ restorative justice services, this includes reparation and victim contact in Sheffield and the same in Rotherham with the addition of a Hate Crime Project.
Implementing the practice:
- The packs were put together by Remedi staff with limited cost attached, the majority of the materials were already available at the youth justice service.
- Where appropriate, the packs can be put together and delivered by staff members, and that time can also be used as a touch point or a short session with the children.
- Appropriate organisations where to send the letters etc. to should be sought locally and prior agreement should be sought before the materials being sent there.
Note: Sheffield and Rotherham services are members of South and West Yorkshire Resettlement Consortium.
Contact:
| Youth justice service: | Sheffield youth offending team |
| Email: | youthjusticeservice@sheffield.gov.uk |
| Youth justice service: | Rotherham youth offending team |
| Email: | Grp.Rotherham-Yot@rotherham.gov.uk |
| Partner Organisation: | Remedi |
| Website: | http://www.remediuk.org/ |