The Hardman Directory

Information

The St Vincent de Paul Society England and Wales is a registered charity that was founded in Paris in 1833 and now operates in 153 countries worldwide. Its volunteer members help people in need locally, irrespective of background, faith, sexual orientation or circumstances. In England and Wales the SVP has around 10,000 volunteer members.

Help given to prisoners

The SVP’s local volunteer groups may be able to assist people in prison, visiting them and providing items such as reading glasses or clothes when it is time for release. They can also help support prisoners’ families.

In addition, SVP volunteer groups have been set up within some prisons and we hope to have more in the future. They are on-site to assist prisoners in any way needed.

Help given to ex-offenders

The SVP National Office can check if there is a local group of volunteers near you. There are 870 groups across the country, near to most prisons. Some can assist prisoners on release and support them in attending probation meetings, for example when public transport is not available. Many can also offer things like:

assistance with basic living costs
food bank vouchers
friendship and moral support
help sourcing professional advice
assistance with letter writing and form filling

In addition, the SVP operates a chain of St Vincent’s community shops offering affordable second-hand goods including clothes, homewares, books and even furniture and appliances, and has community support centres in Leeds, Bradford, Brighton, Southend-on-Sea, Ely Bridge Cardiff, Newcastle, Wirral and Brixton in London, providing advice, guidance, training and support with English language, literacy and IT courses.

The SVP also provides supported accommodation to support homeless men and women in Newcastle upon Tyne and North Norfolk and operates two Approved Premises in Newcastle – highlighted as being innovative and working to a very high standard in reviews by HM Inspectorate of Probation.