Upside is a Scotland-wide throughcare service, offering people in short-term custody, or remand with the support they need to transition to community life.
Release day can be a vulnerable point on the journey from custody to the community. Often, there's a lot to organise in terms of housing, finances, and medical services. Upside strives to provide a gate pickup service so that people are supported to navigate these challenges.
Through pre-release planning and up to a year of post-release support, Upside can help people who have served short-term sentences or been on remand to secure and then sustain safe housing. This is crucial for successful community reintegration.
Our Upside Voices workshops have been continuing across Scotland, creating a safe space for people to reflect on their experience of the service and the wider justice system. These learnings help us to understand what meaningful rehabilitation should look and feel like
Upside was invited to Denmark to share they key principles of our national throughcare model. Attendees recognised the core elements that lead to better outcomes for the people we support... #justice#sharedlearnings#holisticsupport
People supported by Upside and their workers are currently participating in a forum theatre programme led by Theatre of the Oppressed Scotland.
In these sessions, they apply creative, interactive approaches to explore their experiences with different systems and services.
Supporting people on their return to community after a spell in custody can be complex. Now going into its second year, Upside's collaborative approach is of real benefit to the people we support https://t.co/4MD9rWCcmd
As we reflect on Upside's first year, we celebrate the positive impact that the service has had in the lives of the people we support.
Thank you to everyone who has played a part in the journey so far! We have learned a lot to take into Year 2 - stay tuned.
Hard to believe it's a year since we started delivering Upside. Many thanks to our amazing staff who continue to provide essential support to people all across Scotland. πππ
Everyone deserves to be seen as more than their worst moment. The Upside approach is rooted in respect, relationships, and an understanding of how trauma affects behaviour.
Pixie, a Community Worker in the Northern pod, was recently mentioned in a Holyrood magazine article about challenges faced by people leaving prison.
Read more about how Upside contributes to community reintegration at https://t.co/XKHH9ZYgxo
New week, new opportunities! Are you interested in a rewarding career in throughcare?
There are 2 days left to apply for this position with Barnardo's Scotland in Tayside.
For more information, go to https://t.co/jLzcIZI7cx (reference - 22339)
Interested in working with Upside?
Apex Scotland is looking for a full time Practitioner to join the team in Tayside.
For more information, visit https://t.co/KxA7nw8Z3a
Closing date Sunday, 15th February.
Delighted to welcome Cabinet Secretary for Justice, @Aconstance23 to Upside today to discuss progress and developments for the service, as well as presenting some valuable feedback we have collected from the people who have used Upside to date.
Upside Managers met at Impact Arts in Glasgow last week to discuss Emergency Early Release and make plans for 2026.
A big thanks to all Upsiders for your hard work this year! Grateful for an amazing team - enjoy the festive season.
Did you know that Upside is delivered by a partnership of eight national charities?
We work together using an innovative pod model that allows us to share expertise and respond to local throughcare needs.
Each pod has a monthly meeting - here is Pod 7, South Scotland, in Ayr!
Scotland's emergency early release programmes is examined in BBC Radio Scotland's 'Scotcast' podcast. Joe, one of our Prison Throughcare Workers in Barlinnie spoke to them about the challenges people face on release (20:51): https://t.co/qErT9J7yB1
Upside Community Workers recently visited HMP Grampian to attend their Throughcare Open Day, part of Prisoners' Week.
A great chance to share what we do and connect with colleagues in housing, recovery, peer support, and family services! #throughcare#prisonersweek#HMPGrampian
We recently held our first Upside Voices sessions across the country: opportunities for the people we support to share their views and influence the design and delivery of our service.
Here, two of our Voices Champions explain why this is so important to them.