The Next 12 Months
and Beyond

Priorities for Action

The next 12 months are critical for Shine. The Scottish Government have announced that there will be a review of throughcare and mentoring, conducted by Community Justice Scotland. This is a golden opportunity for Shine to take stock and reflect over the past 10 years of service delivery.

In order to assess the impact that mentoring has had, and the outcomes achieved, Shine is looking to commission a piece of research to examine the evidence gathered. This will inform what has worked and what the potential gaps are that need to be addressed. The service has gained a vast amount of experience, learning and knowledge over the past 10 years. Shine boasts a group of very experienced and committed mentors who understand the profile of women in the justice system. Mentors adapt and change their practice, based on the evolving needs of women to ensure their needs are continually met. Therefore during this consultation process mentors will be fully involved and consulted on the future of service delivery.

Shine will continue to be involved in discussions about the ongoing changes in the Justice landscape. It will continue to use the knowledge and experience gained, to influence and advocate for the needs of women. The key priority for Shine is to build sustainability into the service and put it in the strongest position possible for the upcoming commissioning process.

Changes to make going forward

As previously mentioned, digital technology introduced during the pandemic has significantly changed mentoring and support practices. It has opened up a different method for engaging with women, which some prefer. Over the upcoming year digital inclusion will become one

of Shine’s priorities, ensuring that women have access to digital resources and, crucially, connectivity. Discussions will continue with our partners in SPS to explore using video conferencing more regularly as a method for mentors to build a working relationship with women, prior to liberation. The use of technology is an integral development for Shine moving forward, as it opens up a whole host of opportunities for women to engage with Shine and other services but also to for them to become more independent and connected.

With the success of the application to Delivering Equally Safe fund, expanding the service to provide ongoing lighter touch support from volunteers is a key priority. The Shining On project is in its initial set up phase with the recruitment of volunteers well under way. There are a lot of hopes for the project one of which is the development of group work and creating pathways for women who have been through Shine themselves to become volunteers. The project has had a lot of positive feedback so far and built positive working relationships with key partners in the Forth Valley area. As the project progresses the learning will be used to roll out the project to different parts of the country to ensure more women benefit.