A scheme which has helped over 700 ex-offenders or people at risk of offending reintegrate into society has restarted after a two-year break.
The Bendrigg Trust scheme was forced to be put on hold due to coronavirus but has relaunched this month.
Bendrigg Alternative gives people across the North the chance to work alongside disabled people in the outdoors at its specialist centre and charity in Kendal.
Set up in 1991, the scheme aims to change the way volunteers think of themselves and how they relate to others, helping to reduce the chance of reoffending and give them a greater chance of rehabilitation.
A former volunteer said: “The Bendrigg Alternative scheme allows people like me to show who we can be. It gives us the opportunity to repay the faith shown in us, that we can make amends for our mistakes and channel those efforts into something amazing.”
The trust said individuals from open prisons were carefully selected and interviewed by the charity, before being offered placements with groups.
To find out more about the scheme, visit www.bendrigg.org.uk/who-we-are/our-impact/ba
YouTube video about the scheme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTNvPNSYiJs
