The Stephen Lloyd awards are about creating success and they support early stage projects that have real potential to achieve practical, sustainable social change. They harness the expertise and the finance of those with deep knowledge of the charity and social enterprise sector in order to help socially valuable projects move from concept to realisation. The Company is therefore delighted that Release Mates CIC which the Company has supported won one of the 2023 Awards.

Release Mates is a group of prison leavers who recognise, from their own lived experience, the difficulties facing those embroiled in the criminal justice system. The organisation is made up of volunteers who have left prison and are in recovery from addiction living a pro-social lifestyle. The team focuses on diffusing day of release anxiety for prison leavers, offering practical support with accommodation, drug and alcohol recovery, probation appointments, and more, whilst most importantly providing hope and belief that rehabilitation is achievable.