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We thought it would be nice for you to hear why our team members joined Next Chapter Scotland and what they hope the world will look like for people who have been involved with the criminal justice system in 50 years time.
Eppie Sprung (Founder and CEO)
Why?
Two reasons really:
Firstly, I believe, wholeheartedly, that happy, healthy people don't hurt others or themselves and that people do the best they can in the situation that they are in. I therefore think that every single person deserves our compassion and support and if I can use my own skills to make their journey through life that tiny bit easier, then I'm going to do my utmost to help as many people as I possibly can.
Secondly, when my children grow up and have to deal with the inevitable consequences of my own conviction, I hope they'll feel proud that I'm at least doing something useful with the experience.
In 50 years time?
A world where discrimination, regardless of the motivation, is unlawful.
Annie Hope (Helpline Co-ordinator)
Why?
As a family member of someone who has a criminal record, I have seen first hand the discrimination and challenges people face. My children and I have also faced challenges as a result, and our rights have also been violated. For almost five years, I have supported others going through similar experiences, both on a 1:1 basis and in groups.
I became involved with Next Chapter Scotland because I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Society benefits when people are supported to reintegrate, and when family members are supported too. With an emphasis on inclusion, and a focus on lived and learned experience, Next Chapter Scotland is leading the way in inspiring and valuing people and uplifting communities. I am proud to be a part of this team.
In 50 years time?
I hope that the need for such services is reduced. I hope that governments and communities and individuals will identify and address the issues at the heart of so many problems. Issues such as poverty, trauma, homelessness and isolation. Prevention is the way forward, and through supporting people right now, we can support future generations. Change takes time - it is rarely fast - but always possible, and it begins within us all.
Simo Bradley (Outreach and Amplifying Voices Officer)
Why?
I became involved with Next Chapter Scotland because I believe in the organisation's core values, that everyone deserves the right to be judged based on who they are today, rather than being limited by their most difficult moments. As an organisation led by those with lived experience, I feel NCS will deliver real meaningful change.
In 50 years time?
In 50 years' time, I want to be in a world where organisations like Next Chapter Scotland are no longer needed. A world in which organisations, services and policy-makers truly understand that creating the conditions for people to thrive is a good thing not just for individuals themselves, but society as a whole.
Joe Smith (Defend Your Rights, Freelance Trainer)
Why?
I got involved with NCS because it is such an important and necessary organisation. My own experience of rights-based advocacy work has afforded me many opportunities to see the full extent to which the punishment system causes more harm than it could ever purport to prevent. Next Chapter Scotland’s ethos of treating, as human beings, those who the state has criminalised, is a vision of a better future that I want to be a part of.
In 50 years time?
As a committed penal abolitionist, I hope that in 50 years’ time, people will have awoken to the fact that punishment, particularly through the prison estate, creates many more problems than it solves. My hope is that in 50years’ time, the (currently) marginal ideas of penal abolitionists will have become fully mainstream. People will, I hope, have long since woken up to the fact that punishment is always political. Laws are made by the powerful to serve the interests of the powerful. Not only do the most significant causes of suffering stem from war, exploitation and poverty, those who are responsible for these harms are rewarded by the current political and economic system. 50years ago, Bob Dylan sang – “Steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.” This cynical take on ‘justice’ is even more relevant today.
Another 50 years? I’m not sure we can wait that long.
For safeguarding reasons, some of our team members use an alias in their work with us. Please see our Alias Policy for more information.
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