YES - Damian Hewitt, managing director, Always Pushing Barriers
It's time to wake up and smell the coffee. Ex-offenders can and do make a difference in the lives of young people. I cannot comment on individual cases, but as an ex-offender myself, working with young people, I believe that our input is crucial in offering young people real routes out of crime.
With the exception of those people who have convictions for sex offences or violence against young people, someone who has trodden the path can often engage young people who would otherwise claim that workers don't understand their lives.
Provided that an ex-offender has addressed their own issues, and is able to communicate their experience positively, they may offer the only effective avenue of engagement when working with young people at risk of, or involved in offending.
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