Bobbie – I want to share my experiences and give women the same hope that was given to me

Bobbie turned to drink to help her cope with a violent boyfriend. She lost contact with her family due to arguments caused by the five-year-long abusive relationship, and she became increasingly reliant on alcohol.

Bobbie crashed her car while driving under the influence of alcohol, causing serious injuries to a passenger. She was sent to prison for the offence.

"Although being in prison meant I was able to end the violent relationship I was in, I knew I was coming out to nothing," said Bobbie. "My family had disowned me, I seriously injured my friend in the crash, I lost my job, and I was homeless. I didn’t know where I was going to go or what I was going to do."

Bobbie was visited in prison by Ex-Cell, a cooperative that works closely with the Prison Service, Probation, Manchester City Council, Lifeline, Addaction, and the Greater Manchester Community Chaplaincy to find accommodation and paid work placements for homeless ex-offenders upon their release.

My mentor gave me hope

"Ex-Cell came in and offered me a job. They also gave me a mentor who found somewhere for me to live. My mentor gave me hope and helped me focus on something to look forward to when I came out of prison," said Bobbie.

Bobbie’s work placement fell through at the time of her release, so Dave Nicholson, Director of Ex-Cell, offered her a job doing admin in their office.

"I couldn’t believe how lucky I was," said Bobbie. "I came out of prison on Friday, and in a weekend I’d been given a job and had somewhere to live. With ongoing support from Ex-Cell I got back in touch with my sister, sorted out my finances, and exactly one year after leaving prison I signed for my own flat."

At the end of her six-month work placement, Ex-Cell offered Bobbie a permanent position as Office Manager and put her on an accountancy apprenticeship. Bobbie is now also working as a mentor for Ex-Cell, supporting other female ex-offenders.

We are like a big family

Bobbie adds: "I want to share my experiences and give those women the same hope that was given to me. That’s the key thing about Ex-Cell, we’re all there for each other like a big family. Because Ex-Cell is a cooperative, we all have a say in everything and we all support one another."

Ex-Cell is not only a workers cooperative itself, but also provides intensive support for ex-offenders to establish and manage their own cooperatives.

Dave Nicholson explains: "There are two things that make Ex-Cell a success. Firstly, for ex-offenders who come to Ex-Cell and want to set up their own business, establishing a cooperative means they can work together to create their own jobs and co-operate out of crime.

"We are the only organisation in the country providing cooperative development services for ex-offenders, and we are accredited with Cooperatives UK as a Cooperative Development Body. A cooperative business is owned and run jointly by its members, and we’ve set up five of these to date, with more on the way. The cooperatives all employ homeless ex-offenders, leading to the creation of more permanent job opportunities as the business grows.

Everything we do is built around relationships

"Secondly, everything we do is built around relationships. We befriend people and treat them as colleagues, not service users. The mentor work is crucial, especially as many people who come to us have problems with drugs, alcohol or mental health. They need our support to sustain their job and accommodation, and to rebuild family relationships.

"Because we build everything around working together – whether it be the cooperatives we establish, the mentors who provide ongoing support, or our partnership working across Manchester – we see people successfully rebuild their lives every day."

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