Paul Calvert spoke with Langley House Trust
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Sam: Because really Jesus, when he was on earth, he had a real heart for the marginalised and for those who were often looked down on in society. Langley House Trust was born out of someone's vision, when he saw an ex-offender who was absolutely desperate for support. I'm really proud to be part of the organisation and be helping more men and women to live crime-free and get their lives back on track.
Jamie: It's exactly the same reason for me. Also I really feel that God's put it on my heart to reach out to people like ex-offenders and to show them the love that Jesus would show them if he was here now.
Paul: What's your success rate with people who come in?
Jamie: We've got an exceptional success rate. Like I said earlier, the re-offending rate at the moment in the UK is about 57%. We work with about 1000 people a year and we've got a re-offending rate of 3%. It shows that with the right support and having someone believe in them that people can change.
Paul: What's your prayer for these ex-offenders as they come out?
Jamie: My prayer would be that they would find a place like Langley; stable accommodation. They would be able to get all the support they need to overcome all of the things that lead to offending: so, mental health issues, drug addictions and any ties with people who were bad for them. It's quite hard to break away from a group of people, especially if you're being released straight back to where you were from in the first place; quite often it's with the people who influenced you in a negative way. I just pray that they have positive people around them and a safe home to go to and, of course, I would like people to be able to just overcome all of their issues and move on and have a bright future.
Paul: Sam, what's your prayer?
Sam: All of that and plus that ultimately they would really know how
special they are in God's eyes and have that personal revelation for
themselves.