Community Matters Bags

This week, we began delivering our Community Matters Bags across Inverclyde, offering practical support to people returning to the community following a custodial sentence.

Individuals meeting the criteria received a bag of useful items, including a bus pass, shopping voucher and a mobile phone, helping them to reconnect with services, attend appointments and begin rebuilding routines from day one. Alongside the practical items, the project aims to offer a sense of welcome and reassurance at a key transition point.

The pilot will support 40 individuals in total, with links into local services and ongoing community support built into the approach.

The project has been made possible through funding from Inverclyde HSCP’s Health Improvement Team and has been developed collaboratively by a working group including people with lived and living experience of the justice system, third sector organisations, Justice Social Work and community justice colleagues.

The initiative sits within the work of Inverclyde’s Third Sector Community Justice Forum (3SCJF), hosted by CVS Inverclyde. Established in February 2023 as a sub-group of the Inverclyde Community Justice Partnership, the forum brings together third sector organisations to strengthen collaboration, share expertise and improve access to support for people involved in the justice system across Inverclyde.