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The service, named Dechrau Newydd, works with people involved in the criminal justice system and supports them to reduce offending and make sustainable lifestyle changes
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Andy Dunbobbin, and Deputy PCC Wayne Jones, visited the Dechrau Newydd base in Rhosddu Road, Wrexham on Tuesday 12th April to learn more about its vital work in the community and to meet its team working hard to reduce re-offending across North Wales.
As part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s work to support communities and reduce crime in North Wales, he commissions the services of organisations that deliver assistance to particular groups. These services can include supporting women who have suffered violence, aid for people who are vulnerable or at risk of exploitation, or projects that help steer young people away from crime. Dechrau Newydd, Fresh Start in Welsh, is one of the services he has commissioned in partnership with the Prison and Probation Service to deliver a drug intervention programme across the region.
Dechrau Newydd operates across the six counties of North Wales with the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to improve their lives. It works with substance-using offenders and supports them to reduce offending, improve health and social well-being, and make sustainable lifestyle changes. It achieves this through measures including dedicated assessment and interventions, care coordination, recovery care planning, harm reduction services, and group activities and mutual aid support to increase health and well-being.
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin commented: “I was delighted to visit Dechrau Newydd to meet the team and see the vital work they are doing to reduce offending and to give those leaving the criminal justice system a fresh start. Commissioning services like Dechrau Newydd is a key part of my team’s work and helps to ensure real and lasting support and change at community level. Funding these services is also a visible sign of how the taxes we all pay can be put towards hugely worthwhile projects in our communities.
“Dechrau Newydd’s results speak for themselves, with over 90% of people who have engaged with the project saying they felt more in control of their own life and had a better sense of purpose. A criminal justice system that is both fair and effective is a key part of my Police and Crime Plan to ensure a safer North Wales for us all and the rehabilitation of people is a cornerstone of that aim.”
During his visit to the facility, the Commissioner met team members based across North Wales including Tony Ormond (North Wales Regional Recovery and Resilience Manager), Adam Richardson (Senior Resilience Worker), Danielle Entwistle (Kaleidoscope Clinical Lead), and Ruby McGilloway (Housing Floating Support Worker).
Tony Ormond commented: “It’s an honour to lead and manage this Regional Service. For some, the power of temptation towards drugs and crime is immense; however, I like to think that Dechrau Newydd staff have the skills and expertise to create a different picture to tempt individuals away from drugs and crime. People can, and do, change and our rapid response to destabilise negative patterns enables that change.”
Dechrau Newydd is part of the Kaleidoscope68 organisation, which began in Kingston upon Thames in 1968. It is now a major substance misuse service provider and runs projects across the country, as well as a 20-bed in-patient detox unit in the Wirral. It supports upwards of 10,000 people a year across the country.