The Second Chance Club

By Lysanne Curry and Maddy Biddulph

Everyone needs a chance to wipe the slate clean once in a while. Attivo Life meets three organisations that are changing people’s lives by helping them to reinvent themselves and move on.

Starting afresh isn’t easy. Just ask anybody who has needed to retrain for a new role, relocate or even made the decision to get fit. And it can be even harder for those who are also battling society’s prejudices, such as ex-offenders, the homeless or those with learning difficulties. Fortunately, there are people out there willing to give these people a reset, through training, employment and boosting their confidence by empowering them with new skills. From the brewery firm employing prison leavers to a hotel training school teaching vulnerable Londoners about hospitality, they tell their stories here…

Goring Hotel

Hotel School: how royal favourite The Goring helps the homeless get jobs in hospitality.

The Goring in London is famed for being the Royal Family’s favourite hotel: the Queen Mother was a regular, Kate Middleton spent the night there before marrying Prince William and it’s the only hotel in the world to have a royal warrant for hospitality services. Since 2017 it has also run a hotel training school, which has helped hundreds of people. Hotel School – run as a joint venture with London homeless centre The Passage – teaches hospitality skills to homeless and vulnerable people such as refugees and those with learning difficulties. After the 10-week course, they are then placed with jobs in the ‘Most homeless people don’t have a support network such as family/friends, but hospitality can, with its extraordinary teamwork and family feeling, can offer that environment.’

Along the way, Hotel School has helped people such as Victoria, who was homeless for 14 years before the school found her a position serving customers at Allpress London Roastery & Café coffee bar. Then there’s Abdul, a refugee from Sudan, who joined Hotel School in summer 2022 and now works as a kitchen porter at Searcys Inner Temple events venue (Abdul worked for as many hours as possible to save money to rescue his son from the Sudan war; his son arrived in September). Running Hotel School isn’t without its challenges. Some students have struggled with timekeeping and navigating daily life, while Jeremy notes ‘we had one student who needed three years before he was physically fit to do a full shift – but the team stuck with him, and I recently stumbled into him working in a Fitzrovia restaurant.’

Indeed, the biggest satisfaction Jeremy gets is ‘bumping into our graduates in cool restaurants, hotels and cafés around town. Some have even been promoted and hired other graduates. There’s one lovely man from four years ago who keeps smiling down from me in bus shelters across town, as he’s part of a Mayor of London campaign.’ With Hotel School continuing to expand in numbers, they’re also on the lookout for a new teaching space. Until then, Jeremy is thrilled with the scheme’s success. ‘We’re now in the very lucky position of having employers call us to see what graduates are coming out of the training… the transformations we see day-to-day are truly amazing.’

For more information on the Hotel School visit: hotelschool.org.uk.

The Project PT

The Project PT: helping teens smash through the sporting glass ceiling with girls-only boxing lessons.

Boxing has traditionally been known as a male sport, but Alexa and Ajaye Hunn-Phillips, who run The Project PT (www.theprojectpt.com), are fighting to change that. The couple, whose inclusive Oxford gym is designed to encourage people who previously found the gym intimidating give it another chance, are passionate about empowering everyone to embrace fitness. In particular, they want to inspire more girls and women to play sport and run a wide range of intervention programmes to do just that, helping hundreds of vulnerable young people and adults each year.

One of their projects provides free girls-only boxing classes for schoolchildren aged 11 to 14. In the last year, it has helped 250 young girls to love exercise and enjoy all the physical and mental health benefits. Alexa, who is a former England women’s international footballer, knows first-hand how difficult it can be to get involved with traditionally male-dominated sports. She says: ‘I was lucky enough to have a supportive family who could take me to training sessions across London. It’s just one of the many reasons we run these projects, as we know how much having the support you need can make a difference.’

Ajaye adds: ‘Inspiring young girls to get into movement helps them understand and change their view of the appearance of their body versus what their body is actually capable of. ‘When they challenge their body with exercise, they are more able to challenge themselves in other areas of their lives,
empowering them to make better life choices and decisions. ‘Some of the girls we teach come from marginalised communities, so the boxing lessons can have a huge impact on their outlook. Not only do we see the girls get fitter, they also grow in confidence and self-belief. Boxing is a great stress-buster –
plus it’s a brilliant brain workout. You have to think on your feet and use strategic techniques to second-guess what your opponent might do.

‘There is a drop-off in teenage girls exercising that ends up appearing in figures we see in adult women as well. By helping women to fall in love with sport, they can feel more positive about themselves, which spills over into other parts of everyday life.’ One example is Annie* who, Ajaye says, ‘came to boxing very nervous, not knowing anyone, and not previously participating in any physical activity except what was compulsory in PE. ‘During her first session, it transpired she was a fantastic boxer, with great control and skill,’ says Alexa. ‘After three weeks, Annie was completing complex combinations, coaching other participants, and told us she was much happier in life. Annie’s teachers later told us she had engaged with new friends and was more willing to speak up in class. Annie is now exploring options to continue her boxing at a local club, which we have helped her find.’ *not her real name

For more information about The Project PT and its intervention programmes, visit: theprojectpt.com. The Project PT has recently launched an ethical bond campaign to raise £350,000 for new gyms and more social impact projects in Oxfordshire. Find out more and invest here.

Tap Social

Tap Social Movement: helping prison leavers turn their lives around.

People leaving prison don’t have it easy, with studies showing that half of all employers in the UK wouldn’t hire someone with a criminal record. Yet finding work makes a person up to 70 per cent less likely to reoffend.** That’s why Oxford-based Tap Social Movement (tapsocialmovement.com) is on
a mission to help ex-prisoners get a second chance to turn their lives around. The social enterprise, craft brewery and hospitality organisation runs five community spaces in Oxfordshire and offers life-changing employment for former offenders and those on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) (the scheme which allows prisoners to leave for a short time period, sometimes allowing them to work).

Criminal barrister Paul Humpherson, former senior government advisor Amy Taylor and hospitality manager Tess Taylor launched Tap Social in 2016. Since then, this thriving independent business has created more than 80,000 hours of paid, meaningful work for ex-offenders. ‘Prison leavers have the odds firmly stacked against them upon release. Everything we do is about giving them the support they need to overcome those obstacles,’ says Paul.
‘And we’ve seen real results from our approach, with the reoffending rate of those we work with at almost one-tenth of the national average. This benefits not only each individual but also society at large in so many different ways.’

At £42,000 a year, a prison place costs 10 times more than a community sentence of the same length – and comes with higher reoffending rates. Research has shown that reducing the cell count and making greater use of day release saves taxpayer money and reduces crime rates. Today, approximately one-third of Tap Social’s staff has come into direct contact with the UK’s criminal justice system. This  opportunity has been a game-changer for
them. Former Tap Social employee Dylan went on to fulfil his dream of training as a mental health support worker, while another prison leaver, Cooper, credited Tap Social with helping him manage his finances, build up his self-belief, and generally give him a stable foundation after his release.

‘For us, it’s all about empowering prison leavers to move forward with confidence and self respect in their next stage of life,’ says Paul. ‘It’s so gratifying to see individuals regain a sense of purpose while working with us, and incredibly rewarding when they strike out on their own and are able to find their way both personally and professionally.

Learn more about Tap Social Movement at: tapsocialmovement.com.

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