Prison Sunday 21st November- Bringing Hope to the Rhondda Valley

.The Valley of Hope project was set up in October 2002 to work with ex-offenders and substance misusers. It focuses on providing transitional housing founded on practical Christian care in the Rhondda Cynon Taff area for those leaving prison and for those recovering from/struggling with drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues.

The project provides its clients with the counselling and support they require to help rebuild their lives - including tenancy support and a structured life skills course covering budgeting, accounting, healthy living, IT and workplace skills.

Valleyof Hopeis at the cutting edge of ministry focused on reaching out to those who have no church involvement but every need for the Christian gospel of infinite value placed by God on each and every individual.

Church Army evangelist Ralph Upton manages the project and is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers and comments “This project is all about bringing hope into hopeless situations. We are there for those who have reached the end of the line in human terms and have an important role to play in helping them to find purpose and dignity in a very hands-on practical way. It’s only what Jesus would have done.”

Ralph has an impressive track record in working with ex-offenders. He was Assistant Chaplain at H.M.P. Liverpool for six years and during that time was involved in setting up and developing the self harm strategy which greatly reduced the rate of suicide in the prison. He became aware of the revolving door syndrome where people were leaving the prison with nowhere to go which greatly increased the chances of re-offending and return to prison.

Ralph’s next post was Homelessness Officer for Liverpool Diocese together with Ultan Russell (the Director of Church & Society for the diocese) he wrote a major report on homelessness in Liverpool Diocese which was sent to the prison service highlighting this problem. It was the impact of this report that led to Ralph’s work being quoted at length by Lord Shepherd in the House of Lords debate on the homelessness bill in 2002.

As a response to this a Prisons Working group was set up in Liverpool chaired by Ralph and improved links were identified as being needed between the prison and the various homeless agencies. Just recently this work came to fruition with the New Bridge project being set up in Liverpool. At the launch Ralph was honoured by Liverpool City Council for his groundbreaking work and Darrell Stephen Head of Liverpool City Council’s Homelessness Team paid tribute to Ralph’s “visionary work in drawing attention to the gap in resettlement provision for those serving less than a year in prison.” Joy Taylor, manager of the New Bridge Project added; “Without Ralph’s original idea and never say die tenacity this project would never have got off the ground and we owe him a huge debt.”

Taking this experience with him, Ralph moved to the Rhondda Valley in October 2002 and set up the Valley of Hope project. The project is funded by Church Army and the Welsh Assembly under the Supporting People scheme and is a good example of how the society works effectively in partnership with others - the team is fully ecumenical.

Paul Jones the team leader is an Anglican, Sue Evans is the wife of the Pastor of Oasis Church in Ynyswen, Caroline Smith is a Roman Catholic and Ros Page and Wendy Day attend Oasis Church and the Salvation Army respectively.

When a person is referred to the project, a full assessment of their needs are carried out and a personal support plan is put in place to help them maintain a tenancy, learn life skills and assistance when ready in to some form of work or a course. Demand for the services provided by Valley of Hope has already overtaken the number of places available and funding is actively being sought to help expand the number of places and the services provided. Many of the people the team meets are unable to access accommodation due to their past history so the team acquire flats or houses and then give their clients the support needed to take those important next steps.

Ralph comments; “They arrive with not much more than they are standing up in so we obtain furniture, white goods and other household items for the house. We also arrange the gas and electric for them often assisting in budgeting by having token meters installed. Often they are already in the criminal justice system so ensuring that they meet all their requirements is also part of our role.”

Ralph is passionate on the subject of the project’s impact; “People often ask about the success rate of the project and it is hard to answer this question because how do you measure its success? For example, John had not been out of prison since a teenager for more than a few weeks at a time but we kept him out of trouble for six months before he went back to prison. When he came out we had no vacancies but he attends a local church that showed him the love of Christ the first time around.

Tony came out having served a sentence for drug related crime, his relationship had broken down and the children with foster carers. Soon after coming to us his partner moved in with him together with the latest child and this was very unexpected. We now had a family to support which meant dealing with Social services while also addressing the drug problem which they both had.

Making use of secular drug services both of them received medication to stop their use of illegal drugs and their older child was gradually reintroduced to them.

Eventually they were ready to move on and we helped them to access a house in their own right, the family is now back together and as far as we know they are doing well.

My favourite account though is of Jane who had been living in a shed when she was pregnant both her and her partner used substances and nobody wanted to know about them.

Against the advice of other people we gave them a chance and it has not been a smooth ride but more of a roller coaster. However she has come through and both of them are living much more organised lifestyles and their drug problem is under control. She recently wrote a poem which I think catches something of what the project is about.

All My Life

All my life there’s been sadness no hope
So me silly girl turned to the life of dope

No where to live, with no one to mix,
To speak the truth I just needed a fix.

I robbed my family and friends too,
I hated myself wouldn’t you?

In the end I just needed someone to be there,
Someone who would really care

Heroin is the devils spell,
It’s just like walking through the Valleys of Hell.

Heroin I swear ain’t a pretty life
Its nothing but misery and strife.

Then one day out of the blue
I looked at my life and knew what I would do.

Now I’ve met Ralph & Paul
And they became my brick and wall.
They had the faith I’d give up the dope
So all I can say is “Thanks to the Valley Of Hope”

The Gospel is about lives being changed and this is what we seek to do at the Valley Of Hope project.”

The team have plans to launch a volunteer mentoring scheme in the Rhondda in the near future and also a drop in centre working in partnership with a number of Christian groups and churches once a suitable building has been found and sufficient resources secured.

From one client in January 2003 the project is now helping eleven people living in their own accommodation, as Ralph puts it; “There have been a number of people come and go, some have done well, others not so well, but we hope and pray that they have all seen something of Christ in us.”

If you would like to know more about the project and would like to partner with us then please see our website for further details:- www.valleyofhope.co.uk or call 01685 873 716 or write to Valley of Hope at:-

21a Cardiff St
Aberdare
CF44 7DP
Wales.