Supporting Ex-offenders

20–30% of all offenders have learning disabilities or difficulties that interfere with their ability to cope with the criminal justice system


Caring for Ex-offenders began as we realised that men and women who came to faith in prison either through the Alpha course or the care of Prison Chaplains wished to be supported on their release. Many churches when confronted with the reality of dealing with an ex-offender felt they were not equipped for the task. As well as the need to link men and women to supportive churches on their release, we also recognised the need to equip churches about what it means to care for ex-offenders both practically and spiritually.

We now support anyone regardless of whether they have a faith or not.  We aim to see individuals reintegrate back into their community through a church community and tackle the issues that contribute toward offending behavour so that reoffending rates are reduced.  Churches have a key part in fulfilling this aim.  By joining our network we want to equip and resource you to achieve this.

Register your church

The network is completely free to join and there is never an obligation to support an ex-offender who we contact you about.  We will discuss with you what is involved and investigate whether you have the time and resources to properly and safely support the individual.

If you register your church and join the network we will provide you with:

  • A Caring for Ex-offenders Handbook which covers many of the basic considerations when supporting ex-offenders such as 'Building a Team', 'Prisoners out on Licence', and 'Understanding Drug and Alcohol Misuse'.

  • A Church/Ex-offender agreement template.  We will talk you through how to best implement this so that a good set of expectations and boundries are agreed.

  • A Caring for Ex-offenders Adviser.  If you are unsure how to respond in a certain situation you can contact one of our advisors who will give you advice based on their excellent experience of working with ex-offenders.

  • Training opportunities for yourself and other members of your congregation to become skilled at coaching and mentoring ex-offenders.

Click here to be linked to our Church Registration Form.

Receive our prayer newsletter

We send bi-monthly prayer newsletters to inform you of current news at Caring for Ex-offenders.  If you would like to receive this newsletter and pray for certain points please fill out the necessary on-line form to be added to our list.