[Names have been changed to preserve anonymity]

When Kerry was released from Cornton Vale Prison she was in a very chaotic place in her life. She was allocated a Shine mentor who supported her into homeless accommodation in Dumbarton.

Within a couple of weeks it became clear to Kerry’s mentor that this supported accommodation was not suitable for her, so her mentor began to look for alternative, more suitable accommodation. Alternative supported accommodation was found at the Blue Triangle in Clydebank, where things really started to progress for Kerry. It was noticed that her attitudes and behaviours changed dramatically through engagement with the mentoring service.

Kerry had not seen her daughter for a number of years as social services had stopped her from seeing her due to her chaotic lifestyle and the effects it had on her daughter. Both Kerry and her mentor began to engage with her daughter’s social worker, with a view to reuniting the two parties.

Kerry and her mentor were told by the social worker that if she continued to take support they would try and arrange a supervised visit in the approaching months. Kerry’s mentor ensured that she kept social services up to date with Kerry’s progression.

Kerry and her mentor firstly attended a supervised visit to see her daughter, which then moved onto monthly supervised meetings. Now Kerry has had regular unsupervised access to her daughter.