Another Chance

Thought opportunities were something that happened to other people?

Another Chance is your chance to achieve your full potential, build on the strengths you have, break through any barriers, and develop new skills.

The Another Chance programme offers an alternative to violence and criminality.

What’s involved?

You will work together with one of our dedicated mentors. You’ll meet them every week at a location that works for you. They will work with you to rediscover your passions and skills and connect you with local people and organisations who can help you make the most of them.

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What’s in it for you?

Your mentor is there to help you overcome any challenges you’re facing in reaching your goals. Whether that’s finding employment, getting back in to hobbies you love, how to set goals and reach them, or building your confidence. They are there to be your advocate and will work hard to ensure you’re given the best opportunity to succeed.

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Here are just a few of the things current participants have had access to by taking part in the programme:

Support with access to training and employment opportunities
Restarted a hobby they hadn’t done for years
Support with understanding what benefits and financial support they could receive and securing food vouchers to help with their weekly shop
Attending hospital appointments safely
A listening ear who can help with improving mental wellbeing

About Another Chance

Another Chance will support you to improve your wellbeing, access services available to you and your family, and engage with your community and beyond. The programme is delivered through one-to-one support and group sessions.

It’s designed to give you the chance to choose a positive future.

We want to work with you to show that there is a different path that you can take, which doesn’t involve taking part in criminal activity.

Through working with your mentor to identify your strengths and goals, we believe you can take another chance and make the most of your skills, your community and your future.

Another Chance is a programme where we don’t tell you what to do or make decisions for you; we’re working alongside you and alongside your local community to make sure that your future works for you.

Another Chance is a US-inspired programme that has been rolled out in Manchester and Trafford. The programme uses an approach known as ‘Focused Deterrence’, pioneered in Boston (USA) in the mid-1990s to address the escalation in serious violence and also used effectively in Glasgow in 2008 to tackle issues with violence.

Another Chance is led by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit and is part of a wider £7m investment by the Home Office and the Youth Endowment Fund into Focused Deterrence strategies, with similar programmes being rolled out in four other English cities: Coventry, Nottingham, Leicester, and Wolverhampton.

A crowd of young people looking at a projector screen

Who is the programme for?

Another Chance works with people aged 14 to 25 who have been identified as being involved in or at risk of engaging in criminal activity. They are offered the programme as an alternative to engaging in criminal activity and violence.

If they are involved in criminal activity, they will be informed about the consequences of continuing to engage in violence/criminality and they will be subject to law enforcement procedures should they continue offending regardless of whether they choose to participate in the programme or not.

How are people selected to take part in Another Chance?

If you have been selected for the programme, a mentor from Power2 or one of the programme partners will make contact with you.

Our community engagement approach

We believe that for Another Chance to be the best it can be, we need to give local people and communities the opportunity to shape it and tell us what they need to change their lives.

As part of the programme, we are working with the community through a mix of focus groups, one-to-one conversations, and other methods to get your views and put them into practice. This isn’t just about listening, it’s about us taking action to change the things that matter to you.

If you’d like to be involved in our community engagement work, please contact Karlet Manning (karlet.manning@thebiglifegroup.com).

Who delivers Another Chance?

Another Chance is led by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit. Set up in 2019 the Violence Reduction Unit aim to address the underlying causes of violence and work together with communities to prevent it. The Another Chance programme has been developed in partnership with Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Police, Youth Justice, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, His Majesty’s Probation, Manchester Youthzone, Education and Complex Safeguarding teams.

Mentoring is provided by staff from Power2, a charity based in Greater Manchester. The charity supports young people so that they can build happy and fulfilling lives. Power2 does this by helping them to improve their wellbeing, build networks and access opportunities.

The Big Life group are providing community engagement expertise to support the programme, ensuring that Another Chance is shaped and developed by people with lived experience of the challenges and strengths of local communities, and that people are given every opportunity to take ownership of their programme and their future.

FAQs

Additional questions for parent and carers

What happens if someone doesn’t attend the Another Chance programme or drops out?

We want Another Chance to be a positive experience for people who take part in it, but that doesn’t make it a soft touch. The people taking part have been identified as those at risk of, or currently engaging in criminal activity. They will be informed about the consequences of continuing to engage in violence/criminality and they will be subject to law enforcement procedures should they continue offending regardless of whether they choose to participate in the programme or not.

What should I do to help someone make the most of Another Chance?

Making the most of Another Chance is a team effort! We want to empower young people to take every advantage of their strengths and meet their goals, but we know that sometimes they need support from their parents or carers to keep going and make a change.

The best thing that you can do is to give a young person participating in Another Chance encouragement and support to attend their mentoring sessions, take the programme seriously and take advantage of the opportunity.

Part of the life skills that the programme teaches young people is to be punctual, manage their time well and communicate well with their mentor, and support from the people they live with can be vital to make sure they do this.

Although support may be declined by the young person, family support can still be available to parents and carers, as appropriate. We can provide you with practical hands-on help and emotional support if you are experiencing short or long-term difficulties.

Will I be kept up to speed with how my child is getting on?

When your child’s Power2 mentor introduces themselves to you, they will leave their contact details so that you can get in touch with questions or for updates. You can also get in touch with Tracey Clark Walker, the Senior Programme Lead with questions or concerns at any time (tracey.cw@power2.org).

What is the long-term plan for Another Chance?

Another Chance is a two and a half year programme. It’s part of a wider £7m investment by the Home Office and the Youth Endowment Fund into Focused Deterrence strategies, with similar programmes being rolled out in four other English cities: Coventry, Nottingham, Leicester, and Wolverhampton. Focused Deterrence is an approach pioneered in Boston, USA, in the mid-1990s to address the escalation in serious violence and was also used effectively in Glasgow in 2008 to tackle issues with violence. Research, mainly from the US, has shown that – on average – Focussed Deterrence strategies reduce crime by 33%.

The Another Chance programme is being evaluated by our partners at University of Hull who will be working to understand how the programme worked and whether it was effective. To support them with this, we will ask people who participate in the programme for their permission to share information with them. We won’t share names or personal details, but we will share information about the offer and engagement with the programme. Choosing not to share data is fine and will not affect participation the programme. Lessons learned from Greater Manchester will provide new insight into how Focused Deterrence programmes can be adapted and adopted to reduce violent crime in the UK.

Additional questions for professionals

How can I get involved in Another Chance?

Can I refer a young person I work with to Another Chance?

Young people will be selected for the programme based on their offending behaviour. The programme is designed to provide young people who are involved in violence with a new opportunity to choose a positive alternative.

If you know a young person who would benefit from this kind of support you can contact adele.adjetey@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk who will provide you with further details on making a referral by exception.

You can also refer them to Greater Manchester’s Navigator service. The Navigator service works with young people aged 10-25 to help them cope and recover from their experience of violence and assist with access to local support networks to prevent the potential of further violence.

The service is open to all 10–25-year-olds living in Greater Manchester. To make a referral, visit Navigator | Oasis Greater Manchester (oasis-gm.org).

Support for parents and carers who have concerns about their child is also available. The service is free and confidential, and delivered by OasisUK, the charity which also successfully delivers the Greater Manchester Navigator programme to support young people affected by violence.

The service provides family support workers who offer 1:1 support including information and advice, advocacy, emotional support, signposting, and therapeutic training. Peer support groups have also been formed for parents and carers across Greater Manchester to connect with others who have been through similar experiences.

To make a referral, visit Parent and Carer Support | Oasis Greater Manchester (oasis-gm.org).

The Greater Manchester Navigator project supports young people aged 10-25, that have been victims of violent crime or may be considered at risk of being so. Navigators work with a wide range of partners, such as mental health teams, schools, and community projects to create wraparound support and help young people build resilience and achieve their goals.

Referrals can be made through a youth worker, parent, teacher or friend, young people can refer themselves too – GM Navigators Referral Form (office.com)