PROJECT
FOR TIME
The For Time project, rooted in the transformative power of functional fitness and community engagement, where we aim to empower 16 men to build crime-free, successful lives.
The project is an initial 6-week programme that combines structured functional workouts, skill-building sessions, and workshops on resilience, values, goal-setting, and healthy living. The programme culminates in the 'Throwdown,' a competitive fitness event that includes community members and fosters a sense of achievement and connection. Each participant also receives 1:1 mentorship, providing tailored guidance and support throughout their journey in prison and on release into the community, where we aim to help them use their new sense of sporting self to build a positive social network.
Looking at the project in more detail, the starting point is to help a person to focus on their existing strengths and future goals, even if those have been previously used in a negative way (e.g. physical strength used in violence). We do this work during the application process and before the project officially begins, this enables us to build a tailored curriculum which highlights these strengths and how they could be applied more pro-socially i.e. in the gym.
The person’s engagement, both in relation to the individual activities of the project and their overall plan, is important to the change process. With full engagement, each new interaction and activity becomes an opportunity to develop and shape their identity. For example, full engagement with the workouts may allow the person to establish their role as ‘a student’ and a ‘future personal trainer’, identifying with the skills and values of the profession and providing a professional character with which to interact with others.
INTO THE A FUTURE
The majority of beneficiaries at HMP The Mount return to communities across Herts and London. It is our aim to support all 16 from each cohort into education, employment or training on their release from prison. The structural support for this will come from our partnerships with employers who actively seek to find the best outcomes for ex-offenders and we have successfully done this over 50 times to date.
All participants will continue to receive personal support throughout their transition into the community. Our mentors will work closely with them to identify opportunities to continue building their sporting self within the context of a local sports club or gym.
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