Rehabilitation, reducing stigma and giving people a second chance were among the key themes of a powerful conference on community justice held earlier this month.
Around 50 representatives of key organisations gathered at Mareel on Monday 1 September to hear compelling testimony from a range of speakers working in the sector.
Video stories from individuals on the Scottish mainland, provided by Community Justice Scotland, were also screened.
Without doubt the morning's most moving contribution came from a man who has turned his life around with the support of social workers and the Shetland Recovery Hub.
He said alcohol and drug use had got him in “a lot of trouble” in the past, but after been handed a community payback sentence he had used the structure of carrying out unpaid work to make positive changes.
“Being given the opportunity, I realised it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” he told those gathered.
It resulted in an “improved ethic for work” and greater understanding and empathy for others that “I might have judged beforehand, he said.
To warm and loud applause throughout the auditorium, he concluded a deeply emotional talk by stating: “I’m really glad to be where I am today, with a greater appreciation of my life, and I’m grateful every day I wake up.”
Those present also heard short talks from SIC justice social work team leader Christine Miller, SIC youth and employability service team leader Martin Summers, Amanda Pearson of the recovery hub and Lewie Peterson from the Shetland Partnership.
Christine spoke about how community payback was “more than just fulfilling a sentence”, affording people a chance to “give back, learn new skills … a chance to repair some of the harm done”.
Unpaid work can include tasks such as benchmaking, painting (indoors and outdoors), planting trees, grass cutting and general maintenance, including at local village halls and community play parks.
Martin, meanwhile, emphasised the importance of a justice system that is “more than punitive” and helping people find routines and peer support that “helps you believe in yourself” as part of efforts to ensure “no one is left behind”.
The overarching message from Amanda related to tackling multi-layered stigma and shame, which she described as “powerful weapons that prevent people from making effective change”. We’ve also been speaking to her about the recovery hub’s wide programme of activities for this year’s National Recovery Month
Lewie focused on how “close-knit communities can feel claustrophobic” with “lots of places to run but nowhere to hide”. He urged folk to “listen to people’s stories, reflect and consider how judgements might affect our behaviour or views towards someone who needs help”.
Those present also visited the Second Chancers exhibition, an initiative from Community Justice Scotland in partnership with the SIC and Shetland Arts, which can be viewed in the upstairs café-bar at Mareel.
It features large canvas photographs and audio clips sharing the real-life stories of individuals given another chance following involvement in the justice system.
Conference organiser and SIC community justice officer Colleen Flaws said she was delighted with how the morning had gone.
“We screened national stories from those who have personally experienced the justice system and heard from local professionals who offer support to individuals in similar situations in Shetland,” she said.
“I would like to thank everyone involved, especially the one individual who stood on stage and shared his own lived experience of the justice system and how the right support and the right time provided him the opportunity to address the root causes of his offending behaviour – to take accountability, to feel valued and to recover.
“My hope is that the conference offered space for reflection. A chance to simply stop, have meaningful conversations, to see the people behind the behaviours and to understand that we are all just human. A little compassion can go a long way.”
ENDS