THE words of one young man from Grimsby say it all ...
Former jail inmate Mark Drewry, 25, of Beverley Crescent, says: "I have been volunteering for four weeks now.
"I am doing it to learn more and try to get a job.
"This is a new start for me after being in and out of jail since I was 15."
If the Empower programme can just help Mark to turn his life around then it will have done its job.
To change the bad elements of our society we have to be prepared to invest time and money – and accept that some of that investment will be wasted and success will not always be the result.
However for every one or two failures you would hope there will be an equal amount of success.
It is necessary for former criminals to have a real purpose when they are released from prison – yes they must want to change, but they will need to understand how and be given the support and advice.
This in turn will see them meet new people, gain confidence and engage with a society they have been alienated from for a very long time, for some it will have been all their lives.
If such success can be achieved then a cycle will be broken – these former law breakers will grow into a new world, allowing the generations after them to be born and grow in a lawful society.
Yes the above is idealistic, but someone has to be brave enough to try.
Simply allowing people out of prison to return to their old environments is not going to solve anything!
What do you think – comment on this below