Reflections of an Unlock helpline volunteer

This week is Volunteer Week – when charities across the country say thank you and showcase the amazing work of their committed volunteers. We asked one of our brilliant helpline volunteers to share their experiences of working with us. In this blog our volunteer (who we’re keeping anonymous to protect their privacy) shares their reflections
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Introducing our new CEO: Angela Cairns

We’re delighted to announce that experienced charity leader Angela Cairns will be the charity’s new Chief Executive, and will take up the role on Monday 17 May.   Angela joins Unlock after five years as CEO of the criminal justice charity Shannon Trust. She has worked in the voluntary sector since 2002, supporting people to bring about

Our Spring 2021 newsletter

Today we’ve published our Spring 2021 newsletter. The newsletter provides an update of the news at Unlock in the last three months, and we hope it’s a useful way of keeping up to date with what we’ve been up to. Read: Spring 2021 newsletter Previous newsletters are available online here. You can receive future newsletters direct

Monthly update – March 2021

We’ve just published our update for March 2021. This months update includes: New information on sexual offence convictions: what you need to know. An advice post setting out what you do (and do not) need to disclose when applying for a job with probation. A personal story which looks at the true cost of an IPP

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped. We hope they give a good idea of how we help people. More importantly, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers that have been put

Happy 21st Birthday Unlock!

This year Unlock celebrates its 21st birthday, which we’re marking on the same day we publish our ambitious new strategic plan for 2021-26. Alongside the new strategy, we’re launching our new strapline: ‘for people with criminal records‘. We’ve chosen to do this because – although a subtle change to our language – we believe it’s

An insight into Northern Ireland’s consultation on spending periods

The Northern Irish government has just completed their initial consultation on changing spending periods for criminal offences, spurred by a judicial review brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). While that is outside of Unlock’s normal catchment area, we have been following the case closely and working with our colleagues at NIACRO to
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New report highlights impact of criminal records on women

While women overall are less likely to have a criminal record than men, those women who do are more likely to face barriers when accessing employment according to the report, “Angels or witches”: The impact of criminal records on women, published on International Women’s Day by Unlock.  Read the full report Read a summary The report, which brings together the voices and

Monthly update – January 2021

We’ve just published our update for January 2021. This months update includes: An advice post on changes to immigration rules and travel to Europe from 1 January 2021. A personal story from an individual who has benefitted from changes to the filtering rules which came into effect in November 2020 and now has a clean DBS certificate. 

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped. We hope they give a good idea of how we help people. However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers

Looking back at 2020 – A month-by-month review of developments for people with criminal records

With Christmas nearly here and 2020 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and some of the key moments for people with criminal records.    It’s certainly been a year like no other, but once again it’s been an incredibly busy year for Unlock, with lots of positive news and progress that benefits

Unlock Annual Report 2019-20

We are delighted to publish the Unlock Annual Report 2019-20. Compiling our report this year was quite a task as we had so much to say about our work and achievements – from developing our trustee board to supporting volunteers, and from providing direct support to individuals to fighting for system change and a society