A rehab service aimed at improving life prospects for female offenders in Perth and Kinross is being replicated for men.
The award-winning One-stop Womens Learning Service – better known as OWLS – was launched in 2014 to help women who have served a short-term prison service to develop life skills and to better integrate into society.
Now Perth and Kinross Council has confirmed that a similar service is being set up for men.
It follows a report on barriers facing local male offenders, who say they have trouble accessing lifeline substance abuse and mental health services after their release from prison.
The new one-stop facility will be based at the Neuk centre, which opened in Perth earlier this year.
Chief Social Worker Jacquie Pepper told a meeting of the housing and communities committee that significant progress had been made on on the peer-support initiative during lockdown.
She said it is expected to be operational in the coming months.
The plan has been praised by city centre councillor Peter Barrett. “A report to the committee raised concerns about fragmented service provision and difficulties accessing community mental health and drug addiction services,”the Lib Dem councillor said.
“It was very good to hear that the One-stop Mens Learning Shop – OMLS – will be based at the Neuk in the centre of Perth. The fact that it will be up and running by the end of the year is tremendous.”
He said his group had secured funding to pilot OMLS in the budget this year and he was glad to hear progress had not been delayed by lockdown.
“The one-stop shop makes it possible to access a whole range of supports under one roof, so that offenders with multiple and complex needs can be supported holistically,” he said.
A recent analysis of women who attended the Owls recorded a significant drop in re-offending. The majority of service users said their attitudes to offending had improved.
